Lieutenant Governor's Gold Medal Presentation to Ian Brown, Q.C.

On September 16, 2021, His Honour the Honourable Russ Mirasty presented the Institute for Public Administration Canada, Saskatchewan Regional Council, Lieutenant Governor’s Gold Medal to Ian Brown, Q.C.

Ian Brown was born and raised in Regina and completed a degree in Business Administration at the University of Regina, and a Law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

He began his career with the Government of Saskatchewan in the Department of Finance in 1978. In 1980, he moved to the Office of the Legislative Counsel and Law Clerk at the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

During the years of the Devine government, the Legislative Drafting Branch was established and Legislative Counsel were moved to the Public Law Division in the Department of Justice.

Ian became Chief Legislative Crown Counsel of the Legislative Drafting Branch in January of 1988. He retired from this role on June 30th, 2021 leaving an enormous legacy.

Ian consistently provided the highest quality of work. He provided legal advice and drafted legislation for the Government of Saskatchewan’s legislative responses to a wide variety of initiatives and issues.

Legislative action was required to address, among many other issues, including the collapse of commodity prices and increased debt; reforms to the provincial health care system; tax and royalty matters with respect to resource development, and public ownership of Crown corporations; labour and essential services and the creation of The Saskatchewan Employment Act; environmental, carbon and climate change issues; and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He received the Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Public Service in 2013 for his involvement in the creation of The Saskatchewan Employment Act, and again in 2020 for his contributions to the COVID-19 Emergency Financial Relief Team.

As part of his role as Chief Legislative Crown Counsel, Ian was advisor to the Cabinet Committee on Government Operations and worked closely with Cabinet Secretariat and the House Business and Research Office. In addition, he was involved in the creation of training materials to aid government ministries, Crown corporations, and agencies in preparing drafting instructions and developing public policy.

His innovative approaches to providing ongoing training guided policy-makers in producing more robust policies and regulatory systems.

He was a mentor and advisor to many generations of drafters who have joined the Legislative Drafting Branch over the past 40 years. He created a supportive work environment that acknowledged the importance of hard work, as well as flexibility and balance.

Ian was a member of the Association of Legislative Counsel of Canada since 1982. He played a key role in maintaining relationships with legislative and parliamentary counsel across the country.

In 1996, Ian played a pivotal role in assisting the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice in Kyiv as part of a Canadian International Development Agency project to promote democracy in Ukraine.

Ian executed his duties with competency, grace, respect and humility, and his dedication to public administration in Saskatchewan, Canada and abroad was truly outstanding.