Honourable Robert Fowler
The Honourable Robert Fowler was appointed to the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador as a Magistrate in 1977. Following his duties in Gander and Woody Point, he was appointed to the Provincial Court of Grand Falls-Windsor where he remained until 2000. In 2000, he was appointed by the Government of Canada to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. In 2007, he moved to St. John’s where he sat in the Trial Division and the Unified Family Court. Justice Fowler retired in September of 2020 after forty-four years as a Judge.
Michael Collins
Mr. Collins was originally called to the bar in Ontario in 2010 and transferred to the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2012. He is a civil litigator practicing with Tupman & Bloom LLP in St. John’s, NL. His previous experience includes serving as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada, a research lawyer at the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal, and Associate Counsel at the Muskrat Falls Inquiry. Michael has co-authored several journal articles with the Honourable Malcolm Rowe and is a member of the Court of Appeal Rules Committee, the SS Daisy Committee, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Advocates’ Society.
Adrienne Ding
Ms. Ding was admitted to the Bar in Ontario in 2014 and the Bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2015, having obtained her J.D. from Dalhousie University in 2013. She is legal counsel with the firm of O’Dea Earle in St. John’s where she practices labour and employment law and civil litigation. She also contributes to the legal profession as a member of the Judicial Advisory Committee, a board member of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Atlantic Chapter, and a member of the Canadian Bar Association.
Diane Blackmore
Ms. Blackmore has worked in the administrative field with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for approximately 40 years. She has extensive experience working with Commissions/Inquiries, ie. St. John’s Urban Region (Agriculture) Development Area Review Commission, Newfoundland and Labrador Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission, Commission of Inquiry on Hormone Receptor Testing, Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Death of Donald Dunphy, and the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Muskrat Falls Project.
Research Team
In the preparation stages of our Review, our research team will provide background information and jurisdictional scans on statutory offices in this Province, as well as other jurisdictions in the country.
Dr. Alex Marland
Dr. Marland is a Professor of Political Science at Memorial University. He is the author or lead editor of multiple books, including First Among Unequals: The Premier, Politics, and Policy in Newfoundland and Labrador (MQUP, 2014) and The Democracy Cookbook: Recipes to Renew Governance in Newfoundland and Labrador (MUP, 2017), as well as Brand Command: Canadian Politics and Democracy in the Age of Message Control (UBC, 2016) which won the Donner Prize and an Atlantic book award. From 2003 to 2006 he was a public servant in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Beginning July 2023 he will be the inaugural Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership at Acadia University, in Nova Scotia. Dr. Marland provided invaluable assistance in the planning stages of the Review.
Gala Palavicini
Ms. Palavicini holds a BA in Political Science and Russian Studies from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She was twice awarded the Senator Eugene Forsey Scholarship for excellence in Canadian government studies and received the University Medal of Academic Excellence. In September 2023, she will be an MA candidate in Political Science at Dalhousie University, as a Nova Scotia Graduate Scholar. Ms. Palavicini is providing ongoing research assistance to the Review.