Carrie Bourassa, who claimed to be Indigenous without evidence, has resigned from U of Sask.

The University of Saskatchewan has announced in a brief statement that Carrie Bourassa has resigned.

Bourassa was a professor in the department of community health and epidemiology. She also ran an Indigenous community-based health research lab at the university. 

For years, she claimed to be Métis, Anishinaabe and Tlingit, but an October 2021 CBC investigation found no evidence that she had any Indigenous ancestry. All of her relatives appear to be of European ancestry. 

Following publication of that story, Bourassa was suspended and placed under investigation by the U of S. In November, the university announced that Métis lawyer Jean Teillet would conduct that probe. 

A statement from Preston Smith, the dean of the university's college of medicine, seems to indicate that with Bourassa's resignation, the investigative report will focus on policy improvements instead of Bourassa's conduct. 

"Given Dr. Bourassa is no longer with the university, an investigation being conducted by Jean Teillet will now focus on recommendations for improvements to relevant University of Saskatchewan policies and processes," he wrote. 

Smith indicated that the university expects to receive the report "in the near future." 

In November, Bourassa was dismissed from her role as the scientific director of the Indigenous health arm of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). In that role, she oversaw the distribution of research funds to Indigenous health-focused projects across Canada.