In the 2013 Vancouver Human Rights Lecture, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond will cover a range of topics including a description of living conditions and statistics on Aboriginal children in BC, and how we might go about addressing these unacceptable statistics. She will discuss recent work of the Representative’s Office and the government’s role in Aboriginal services over the past ten or so years. She will also look at education past and present and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as related to the rights described in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is BC’s first Representative for Children and Youth, an Independent Officer of the Legislature who supports children, youth and families who need help in dealing with the child welfare system. She has worked as a criminal law judge in youth and adult courts, with an emphasis on developing partnerships to better serve the needs of young people in the justice system.
Ms. Turpel-Lafond is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation an is active in her First Nations community. In 2007, the Indigenous Bar Association awarded her the distinction of ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Counsel’. As well, Time magazine has twice bestowed honours upon Ms. Turpel-Lafond, naming her one of the 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow in 1994, and one of the Top 20 Canadian Leaders for the 21st Century in 1999.
The 2013 Vancouver Human Rights Lecture is presented by The Laurier Institution, UBC Continuing Studies and CBC Radio One, and will be recorded for national broadcast on Ideas, CBC Radio’s program of contemporary thought.
Admission is FREE. Register online or call 604.822.1444 to reserve your seat.
