John Panusa (B.A., LL.B., LL.M., C.Dir) is a lawyer and executive. He began his career in Calgary articling with Stikeman, Elliott and moved to Vancouver to join Thorsteinssons Tax Lawyers. He then moved to an in-house counsel position with WorkSafeBC, one of BC’s largest corporations that administers both the workers’ compensation and occupational health and safety systems in BC. He advanced through several senior leadership positions at WorkSafeBC in areas such as policy and regulation, enforcement, and governance. He played a key part in advising on and implementing the “Final Report on the WorkSafeBC Review and Action Plan” by Gordon McAtee which saw wholesale changes in the way WorkSafeBC operated in a number of key areas.
John joined Legal Aid Alberta (LAA) in 2017 as President and CEO. Since that time, he has helped secure a multi-year Governance Agreement that includes the first sustainable funding model in LAA’s history, including an additional $70 million over 5 years. The new Governance Agreement also provides LAA more flexibility in how it administers the legal aid plan leading to innovative approaches to serving clients in an effective and efficient way across the Province. John has also introduced significant operational changes and a new Strategic Plan with a new vision, mission and values that have resonated internally and externally, resulting in media coverage by both The Lawyers Daily and Canadian Lawyer.
John is a graduate of the University of Alberta law school and the University of Cambridge. He holds a Chartered Director designation from the McMaster University Directors College. He has a wife and two daughters, and he is a keen cyclist having competed in several ultra-
endurance events.