Service NL
September 22, 2017
Provincial Government Appoints Consumer Advocate for Automobile Insurance
Dennis Browne, QC, has been appointed Consumer Advocate for Automobile Insurance for Newfoundland and Labrador. In this capacity Mr. Browne will represent consumers during the upcoming automobile insurance review carried out by the Board of Commissioner of Public Utilities (PUB).
Mr. Browne was named Consumer Advocate through the Independent Appointments Commission in October 2016 under the Public Utilities Act. This latest appointment is made under the Automobile Insurance Act and the Insurance Companies Act, both of which provide for a representative for consumers in the PUB hearings.
A biography for Mr. Browne is provided in the backgrounder below.
Quotes
“The Consumer Advocate will play a vital role in the Automobile Insurance Review, and will be empowered to ensure that consumer interests are properly represented. Mr. Browne has extensive experience in consumer advocacy, and I am confident that he will use this expertise to put the interests of consumers on equal footing with those of industry stakeholders.”
Honourable Sherry Gambin-Walsh
Minister of Service NL
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Media contact
Gina MacArthur
Service NL
709-729-4748, 730-2977
GinaMacArthur@gov.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
Biography for Dennis Browne, QC
Dennis Browne, QC, has practiced law since 1984 and works with the firm of Browne Fitzgerald Morgan and Avis in St. John’s.
From 1996 to 2004 he served as Consumer Advocate, representing electricity customers before the Public Utilities Board in Newfoundland Power and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro general rate applications and capital budget hearings. During his time as Consumer Advocate, Mr. Browne also addressed the Canadian Conference of Energy Regulators on New Regulatory Approaches in the Energy Sector. In 2003, he participated in the PUB’s first mediation efforts to bring together Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, Newfoundland Power, industrial customers and domestic rate payers resolving relevant issues on cost of service. In October 2016 he was once again appointed as Consumer Advocate, representing the interests of domestic and general service customers in relation to specific hearings and applications before the Public Utilities Board.
Mr. Browne has experience advocating on behalf of consumers on insurance issues, having previously represented consumer interests in a 2001 Facility Association Insurance application. He acts for administrative tribunals including the College of Physicians and Surgeons, has chaired interdisciplinary panels for professional associations including the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, and has lectured in labour law at Memorial University. He is a member of the Federal Panel of Adjudicators, the Newfoundland and Labrador Panel of Arbitrators and the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador. He is married to author Susan Chalker Browne.
2017 09 22 2:15 p.m.