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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Olivia Bowden in Toronto

Canada: university president to take leave amid controversy over Indigenous ancestry claim

Vianne Timmons of Memorial University of Newfoundland; there have been several cases of cultural identity fraud in Canada lately.
Vianne Timmons of Memorial University of Newfoundland; there have been several cases of cultural identity fraud in Canada lately. Photograph: Canadian Press/Rex/Shutterstock

The president of a Canadian university has apologized and is taking a leave of absence after allegations that she falsely claimed to be Indigenous, in the latest high-profile case of apparent cultural identity fraud.

Vianne Timmons, who is president of Memorial University of Newfoundland, said that she would be taking a six-week leave after the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) published a report last week questioning her claims that her father’s great-great-grandmother was Mi’kmaq.

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