Series BF 3-3 - Meetings/Events series

Born August 28, 1944 on a farm near Caron, Saskatchewan, Edward Blain 'Ned' Shillington received his early education at Grayburn Public School. He attended St. Louis High School in Moose Jaw, and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with Bachelor degrees in Arts and Law in 1967. Shillington articled in Regina and practiced law in Moosomin from 1968-1971 prior to entering politics.

After a failed attempt to win a seat for the New Democratic Party in Moosomin in 1970, Shillington was appointed Executive Assistant to the Attorney-General in 1971, and served in this position until 1975.

First elected to the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly as a New Democratic Party member for Regina Centre Constituency in 1975, Shillington later served as MLA for the Regina Churchill-Downs and Regina Northeast Constituency until his retirement in July 1999.

He has held numerous Cabinet portfolios in the Blakeney and Romanow Governments: Minister of Co-operation and Co-operative Development (1975-1977), Minister of Consumer Affairs (1975-1976), Minister of Government Services (1976-1978), Minister of Culture and Youth (1977-1980), Minister of Education (1978-1979), Associate Minister of Finance (1992,1995), Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Property Management Corporation (1992), Associate Minister of Finance (1992, 1995), Minister of Labour (1992-1995), Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1995), Minister of Intergovernmental Relations (1995-1996), Provincial Secretary (1995-1998), and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs (1996-1997).

After leaving politics Shillington worked as a consultant on legislative process for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Regina. In June 2000 he became Vice-President of Points West Consulting Inc. responsible for the Alberta Region. He held that position until May 31, 2002, when he became an investment manager of a privately owned investment fund.

Shillington married Sonia (Koroscil) in 1970; they have two children, Ryan and Tara. The Shillingtons currently (2010) reside in Calgary, Alberta where Shillington is a private securities investor.

Robert Wayne Mitchell was born on March 29, 1936 in Preeceville, Saskatchewan to Charles Stuart and Beda Annette (Abrahamson) Mitchell. He was raised on a farm near Sturgis and graduated from Sturgis Composite High School in 1954. Mitchell earned Bachelor of Arts (Economics) and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Saskatchewan in 1957 and 1959 respectively.

After graduation, Mitchell articled with a Regina law firm and was admitted to the Saskatchewan Bar in June, 1960. He practiced law in Swift Current and Regina until August, 1970. He then moved to Ottawa, Ontario to work for the Federal Government as Director of Legal Services with the Department of Regional Economic Expansion and Department of Labour. In 1974 he worked as a Labour Relations Expert with the International Labour Organization in the Caribbean. After returning to Saskatchewan and serving as Deputy Minister of Labour for Saskatchewan from 1974 to 1979, Mitchell practiced law and was a senior partner in Mitchell Taylor Romanow Ching, a Saskatoon law firm. He also served on various panels and boards as a consultant, mediator and negotiator. Mitchell was chairman of the Key Lake Board of Inquiry (1979-1980) and was the federal government's chief negotiator for Inuit land claims in the Central and Eastern Arctic (1981-1982).

Mitchell's involvement in provincial politics began in 1982, when he ran unsuccessfully as the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate in the Saskatoon Fairview constituency. He was first elected to the Saskatchewan Legislature in 1986 and served as the NDP member for Saskatoon Fairview until 1999.

Mitchell held various portfolios in the Roy Romanow Government, serving as Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment (1991-1992); Provincial Secretary (1991-1992); Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1991-1995); and Minister of Labour (1992). He resigned from Cabinet on February 20, 1995 and was reappointed on April 5, 1995. He served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1995); Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training (1995-1997); and Minister of Labour (1996-1998). He was also Minister Responsible for numerous agencies, boards and commissions, including the Saskatchewan Public Service Commission (1992-1995) and the Saskatchewan New Careers Corporation (1995-1997).

Mitchell resigned from Cabinet on September 21, 1998 and vacated his seat in the Legislative Assembly on January 18, 1999. Chris Axworthy (NDP) became MLA for Saskatoon Fairview in the June 28, 1999 by-election.

Mitchell became Chief Negotiator for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) in 1999, and later was appointed police complaints investigator for Saskatchewan in 2004 and chair of the Saskatchewan Public Complaints Commission in 2009.

Robert Mitchell died on November 18, 2016.

Mitchell married Sandra Gail Stolson, a lawyer, on October 18, 1968. They had six children: Janet, Roberta, Stephanie, Shannon, Donna and Alison.