An Indigenous trade champion, a young executive legal officer, a federal policy-maker, and a trailblazing judge-turned-media-star have one thing in common. They are all recipients of this year’s Queen’s Law alumni awards. 

The Dean’s Council awards committee has selected these winners from a strong list of nominees put forward by their fellow grads.

Wayne Garnons-Williams, Law’90

H.R.S. Ryan Law Alumni Award of Distinction (for overall distinction in the legal profession) 

This prominent figure in Indigenous law and advocacy serves as President of the International Inter-tribal Trade and Investment Organization, CEO of the National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada, and CEO of an international business specializing in tribal trade and sustainable economic development – alongside running his Garwill Law practice. Notably, he acted as Canada’s lead Indigenous negotiator for the Indigenous Peoples Economic Trade and Cooperation Arrangement. He holds various board positions, has received numerous awards for contributions to Indigenous rights and international law, is actively involved in Indigenous trade policy development, and has a book forthcoming with Cambridge University Press.

Hayley Pitcher, Law’14

Dan Soberman Outstanding Young Alumni Award (for early-career success)

After litigating high-profile constitutional cases for the Attorney General of Ontario, she earned her LLM in 2019 from the University of Melbourne, where she served as an associate member and research assistant at its Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies. In 2021 she joined the Court of Appeal for Ontario as counsel and was recently promoted to senior leadership as its first Deputy Executive Legal Officer. She speaks frequently on mental health in the legal profession and received the Michael Fleishman Award from the Association of Law Officers of the Crown for her exceptional commitment to public law, mentoring, and fairness.

John H. Sims, CM, KC, Law’71 (Arts’67)

Justice Thomas Cromwell Distinguished Public Service Award (for sustained and outstanding public service)

For five years of his 33-year career with the Department of Justice, he served as Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada, advising Ministers and Cabinet on key policy and operational matters. His leadership shaped legal services and policy on criminal law reform, family justice, and public safety. He chaired the Canadian Bar Association’s Committee on Access to Justice (A2J) and contributed to the Action Committee on A2J in Civil and Family Matters. Among his honours, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada in 2010 and an Honorary LLD from the Law Society of Ontario in 2014.

The Honourable Harvey Brownstone, Law’80

J.A. (Alec) Corry Distinguished Alumni Award (for excelling in a career outside the traditional practice of law) 

Canada’s first openly gay judge has made history again as the world’s first sitting judge to write a national bestseller, Tug of War, and to host both a TV show (“Family Matters with Justice Harvey Brownstone”) and an online talk show, (“Harvey Brownstone Interviews”). After retiring from the judiciary in 2021, he focused on his interview series, which now attracts more than 5 million online viewers monthly, plus 3 million weekly TV viewers in the U.K. The program features in-depth interviews with Hollywood icons from cinema, TV, and music, and ranks 12th on the Hollywood 411 list of the world’s top talk shows.

These alumni awards will be presented at the Celebrate Queen’s Law alumni reception on June 5, 5-7 pm, at Massey College in Toronto. Alumni wishing to attend should register to reserve a spot.