Wilcox became a commissioner in 2011 and has served as deputy chief since 2018
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Saskatchewan Gordon Wyant has announced the appointment of Barry Wilcox, partner at Novus Law Group, as interim chief commissioner of the province’s Human Rights Commission.
“I am confident that the Commission will be able to fully serve the people of Saskatchewan under his leadership as we search for a new permanent Chief Commissioner,” said Wyant in a news release.
Wilcox, who joined as commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission in 2011, has served as its deputy chief since 2018. He has spent his legal career in Prince Albert, where he was born and raised, according to his profile for Novus Law Group. His law practice has focused on corporate law, personal and corporate finance and other business-related legal matters; he also has experience in administrative law, criminal law, wills and estates, civil litigation, employment law, tax law and appellate law. He is a licensed mediator.
Wilcox has appeared before the Tax Court of Canada, before the Federal Court, before the three levels of courts in Saskatchewan and before various provincial commissions and boards. He has been a member of the Federal Judicial Appointment Advisory Committee for Saskatchewan, which reviews applications for judicial appointment to the Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, the Federal Court and the Tax Court of Canada.
Wilcox has acted as legal counsel and as a director of the Harbour Group of Companies in Saskatchewan and as volunteer legal counsel for Lakeland Citizens on Patrol, Neighborhood Watch and Prince Albert Crimestoppers. He has presented many seminars for the Public Legal Education Association.
He obtained his law degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1977 and admission as a member of the Law Society of Saskatchewan in 1981 after spending a few years focusing on his pursuit of business interests. He was designated Queen’s Counsel in 2011.
Wilcox is active in his community, including through serving as president of the P.A. High Noon Optimists, as exalted ruler and board chairman of the Prince Albert Elks Lodge No. 58, and as chairman of the Elks and Royal Purple Fund for Children, Prince Albert Lodge.
He has been a member of the board of the Prince Albert Group Homes and of the Victoria Hospital Foundation and a member of community fundraising committees for initiatives such as the Art Hauser Center and the E. A. Rawlinson Centre for the Arts. In 2005, he received the Saskatchewan Lacrosse Sponsor of the Year Award for donating volunteer legal services locally and provincially.
