In 1913, Watkis applied to become a film censor, however, the attorney-general of the time rejected her application and gave the position to a man.
[2] The British Columbia projectionists' union refused to teach her, as projection was considered to be a man's profession.
[1] In newspaper interviews published in late 1920 and early 1921, Watkis presented herself as an authority on the film industry and a senior decision-maker at PEPS.
[2] A few months after the Maclean's profile appeared, Watkis was quietly transferred from PEPS back to her position as inspector at the Amusement Tax Office.
Ironically, the latter film wasn't even an in-house production; it was made for PEPS by a commercial firm, Pathescope of Canada.
Morris's account eventually led to a widely accepted belief that Watkis was an unsung Canadian filmmaking pioneer.
In her 1979 MA thesis, Juliet Thelma Pollard pointed out the discrepancies between the Cuppage/Morris version of the PEPS story and the significance of A. R. Baker, as revealed in newspaper coverage from the period.