About the Review
The Government of Prince Edward Island has established an independent review to ensure the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) remains effective, transparent, accountable, and aligned with modern best practices in regulation and administrative decision-making.
This review will take a thoughtful look at IRAC's current processes and structure and make recommendations regarding modernization or reform.
The review has begun public engagement and is providing opportunities for residents, organizations, municipalities, Indigenous communities, the business community, and other interested parties to share their experiences, perspectives, and ideas.
Contact Us
For general inquiries, please email commission@iracreview.ca.
To make a public submission visit our Public Engagement page.
Sign up to receive updates on the Review’s work.
The Team
Rory Francis has been appointed Commissioner to lead the Independent Review. He is supported by a team of staff and advisors with expertise across the areas the Review is examining.
Rory Francis
Rory Francis has 40 years experience in professional, management and leadership roles in the public and private sectors. As an experienced senior executive, Mr. Francis has led transformative change in public sector and not-for-profit organizations encompassing economic and social policy and programs.
From 2005 to 2025 he was CEO of the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, a private sector-led not-for-profit network of bioscience businesses, academic and research organizations, and government agencies. The role of the BioAlliance is to facilitate the growth and development of the province’s growing bioscience cluster, working with industry, research, and government partners to establish successful businesses. Under his leadership, the Cluster more than quadrupled the number of company participants, quadrupled private sector revenues to over $600 million per year, and tripled sector employment to over 2200.
From 1991 to 2005 he served as Deputy Minister in the Government of Prince Edward Island under five different Premiers representing two political parties. He led several government departments, including Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, Health and Social Services, and had responsibilities for Housing, Seniors, Emergency Measures, and Harness Racing. He currently chairs the Boards of the Canadian Alliance for Skills and Training in Life Sciences (CASTL), the Eastern Canada Oilseeds Development Alliance (ECODA), STEAM PEI, and the Advisory Board for the National Research Council's Aquatic and Crop Resource Development Research Centre (ACRD).
Rory has served as a Board member with the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, the Food Island Partnership, the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre and Platform Genomics Inc, Past President of the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Advisory Board for the Holland College Canada’s Smartest Kitchen Technology Access Centre, and the Board of Governors of Junior Achievement PEI. In 2008-2009 he co-chaired The Commission on the Future of Agriculture and AgriFood in Prince Edward Island.
Mr. Francis is a native of Prince Edward Island. He earned a BSc in geology and chemistry from Mount Allison University and an MSc in Hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo. Mr. Francis is an avid naturalist and is active in community work. He resides in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island with his wife Ann. They have three children and four grandchildren.
Kelly VanBuskirk, K.C., PhD, C.Arb.
Kelly VanBuskirk brings more than three decades of experience in administrative, regulatory, and civil litigation practice to his role as Legal Counsel to the Independent Review. Called to the New Brunswick Bar in 1993, he has appeared before tribunals and courts across Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and has represented parties and administrative tribunals on matters of regulatory practice, procedural fairness, and dispute resolution.
Based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Dr. VanBuskirk leads VanBuskirk Law following more than two decades as a partner at Lawson Creamer. Alongside his litigation practice, he serves as an arbitrator and mediator, holding the Chartered Arbitrator designation from the ADR Institute of Canada. He is a certified workplace investigator and has delivered training to more than ten thousand professionals across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
As an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Business at the University of New Brunswick and a part-time instructor in the Faculty of Law, he has taught Administrative Law, Trial Practice, Strategic Negotiations, Employment Law, Sport Law, Labour Law, Business Law, and a variety of human resources-based courses. His scholarship has appeared in the Canadian Bar Review, the Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal, and the Canadian Arbitration and Mediation Journal, among others.
Dr. VanBuskirk holds an LL.B. from the University of New Brunswick, an LL.M. in Employment Law from the University of Huddersfield, a PhD in Employment Law from Nottingham Trent University, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Prince Edward Island. He was appointed King's Counsel and is a recipient of the Canadian Bar Association's E. Neil McKelvey Award for Pro Bono Service. He resides in Saint John with his wife Cynthia.
Dawn Binns
Dawn Binns brings more than two decades of leadership in facilitation, public consultation, and governance to her role as Executive Director for the Independent Review. She began her career leading the PEI Division of the Canadian Cancer Society and contributing to national governance review and federal advocacy. In 2010, she co-founded Insight Studio, an Atlantic Canadian marketing agency that grew into a multi-disciplinary firm serving national and regional clients across sectors.
Dawn now leads Dawn Binns Consulting Inc., where she works with leaders and teams on strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and the design of consultation processes that meet people where they are.
Dawn has held senior volunteer leadership across the Island and beyond, including as Chair of the PEI Partnership for Growth, member of the PEI Premier's Council for Recovery and Growth, Board President of the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce, and on the Executive Committee of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce.
Dawn holds a Masters in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University and was awarded the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2023.