The SOAR Medal is SOAR’s top honour. It honours those who have made a significant contribution and demonstrated their commitment to the field of administrative justice, who have been dedicated and active members or supporters of SOAR, and/or who have made a significant contribution to the administrative justice field and to the well-being of the community at large.
To be eligible for the SOAR medal, nominees must have demonstrated:
Consistent outstanding service and achievement of exceptional leadership dedicated to advancing excellence in the field of administrative justice, above and beyond the successful completion of day to day responsibilities; or a singular accomplishment of particular significance to the administrative justice community.
Although it is not mandatory for the award recipient to have volunteered for SOAR, the selection committee will consider an individual’s unpaid volunteer service with SOAR.
The Nomination Process
Each year, SOAR invites nominations for the SOAR Medal. The SOAR Medal is presented at SOAR's AGM in December each year.. The Nominations close on October 15 of each year the medal is awarded. All nominations are reviewed by the SOAR Medal selection committee.
Nominations for the award will be accepted from any source. The recipient does not have to be a SOAR member. The award is open to both current and former members and staff of Ontario’s administrative justice community. This includes adjudicators, tribunal staff, lawyers who practice before agencies, public servants, academics, and judges. Individuals paid for services to SOAR are also eligible for the award provided they meet the selection criteria for the award. Current members of the SOAR Board of Directors are not eligible for the award.
Nominations must include:
1. Name and contact information for Nominee and Nominator
2. A letter of nomination setting out the reasons for the nomination;
3. Background information on the nominee’s outstanding service and achievements as they relate to the award;
4. A current curriculum vitae; and
5. Two (2) letters from other individuals supporting the nomination.
Download the Nomination Form Below and send to
Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators at
NEW MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 25 Toronto, Post Office F, ON M4Y 2L4
PAST SOAR MEDAL RECIPIENTS since the Award's inception in 1995
1995 Robert W. Macauley Q.C., Dr. Ratna B. Ray, George Thomson
1996 Mary Cornish, Andromache Karakatsanis, Andrew J. Roman
1997 Jeff G. Cowan, S. Ron Ellis Q.C., Margot Priest
1998 Marie C. Rounding, John Swaigen, George Adams
1999 Gary J. Guzzo, Janet Skelton, Gary C. Yee
2000 Clare Lewis, Heather MacNaughton, Brian Goodman
2001 Doug Colbourne, Carolyn Fenn, Ken Sandhu
2002 The Honourable John Laskin, Kent McClure, Zeynep Onen
2003 Michael Bay, the late David B. Braund, the late Nick McCombie
2004 Kathy Laird, Richard Prial
2005 The Honourable Madam Justice Deena Baltman, David Mullan, Ted Yao
2006 Murray Chitra, The Honourable Justice David O’Connor, Robert Owen
2007 The Honourable Douglas Carruthers, Carole Prest
2008 Mary Ellen Cummings, Linda L. Gehrke, Dr. Bonita (Bonnie) Porter
2009 Sara Blake, Chisanga Puta-Chekwe
2010 Mary Camacho, Dean Lorne Sossin, The Honourable Justice Kevin Whitaker
2011 James Girling, The Honourable Justice David Stratas, Toby Vigod
2012 Ayumi Bailly, The Honourable Justice Edward Ormston, Paul Sommerville
2014 Robert Butterworth Q.C. The Honourable Stephen T. Goudge, Q.C.
2015 Mr. Ian Strachan
2016 Mr. Gary R. Stanley, The Honourable Freya Kristjanson
2017 Avvy Yao Yao Go, Lilian Ma
2018 Valerie Jepson, Janet Leiper
2019 Emanuela Heyninck, Susan Opler
2020 Brian Cook, Laura Pettigrew
2021 Raj Anand, David A. Wright
2022 Kwame Addo, Michelle Alton
2023 Margaret Leighton, The Honourable Katherine Swinton
