Effecting change and making a difference are the hallmarks of Brian Lerner’s career and of his community service. Through his work as a corporate/commercial lawyer and his many volunteer commitments over the years, he is simply driven by the desire to make life better in Manitoba.
“When I look out my office window and see a building going up—knowing I played a small part in making that development happen through my work—it feels good,” says Lerner, a partner at MLT Aikins. “It feels similarly rewarding to be part of an organization or a fundraising campaign that changes the delivery of health care.”
Lerner, a Health Sciences Centre Foundation Board member since 2011 and current Vice Chair, cares deeply about the Foundation, its proven impact, and the role it can play today and in the future. It’s that passion that influenced his decision to name the Foundation in his will, thereby becoming a member of the Bannatyne Legacy Circle.
“When I was redoing my estate planning, I decided to focus more attention on charitable bequests, and the HSC Foundation was obviously top of mind,” he says. “Health care is such a large enterprise and the system’s needs keep growing. It’s nearly impossible for any government to handle the challenge alone, especially when governments change every few years. The decisions that need to be made and the actions that need to be taken are complex and long term, and so having a strong Foundation today and forever is critical for the well-being of Manitobans.”
As the Foundation has grown in size and expanded its presence, he has seen how campaigns of all sizes have driven action and have led to timely, positive impacts on patients and the medical professionals who care for them. This includes larger, generational, system-wide initiatives like Operation Excellence, as well as shorter-term campaigns focused on specialized programs at HSC.
His own leading support of the acquisition of a new ocular coherence tomography (OCT) machine in 2022 is a case in point. It came to Lerner’s attention that physicians treating patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at HSC were trying to acquire an OCT machine to support early diagnosis and the development of tailored treatments. Within a couple of weeks, largely due to Lerner’s generosity and direct fundraising, $100,000 was raised to purchase the machine.
Lerner’s understanding of the need for improved MS care was shaped by the MS journey of his wife, Hilary Kaufman Lerner, who passed away in 2016. Hilary was diagnosed in 1985 at the age of 21 and received care at HSC from Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie who Lerner describes as “an international rock star” in MS treatment and research.
“Hilary’s care, her story, and other family experiences with HSC inspired me to get involved with the Foundation,” says Lerner.
Along with his dedicated involvement with the HSC Foundation, Lerner has been an active volunteer with a variety of other non-profit organizations, including the United Way, the True North Youth Foundation, BGC Winnipeg, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, the Law Society of Manitoba, and others.
“If you live somewhere where you devote your career, your life, and you raise kids, it’s important to give back. And it’s fulfilling,” he says of his community service. “Volunteering is a great way to understand aspects of the city to which you might not otherwise be exposed. If you have kids or other loved ones who live here, it’s important that we all do what we can to help ensure there is a better future ahead for them.”
Lerner was born and raised in Winnipeg to Bernie and Sybil Lerner. His father passed away in 2012; his mother is still healthy and independent at the age of 89. He completed high school and started university in Calgary before returning to Winnipeg to complete his undergraduate degree in economics and his law degree at the University of Manitoba.
He had a long fascination with the law, inspired early on in part by the popular movie and television show, The Paper Chase.
“It was always intriguing to me to hear how the characters talked through problems and analyzed them. I was attracted to that,” he says. “Law school was interesting for that reason, although it sometimes got pretty abstract and academic. Practising law, when I can help people solve real problems or help an important project come to fruition, is truly rewarding.”
Everything Brian Lerner has done and continues to do at work, in his volunteer roles, and through his philanthropy is focused on nurturing a brighter future. That is what the Bannatyne Legacy Circle was designed to do.
