Regulatory Cooperation

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Comments and Suggestions

The CER welcomes feedback on the content of the Regulatory Framework at any time.

Overview

The CER’s regulatory cooperation activities support improvement to the Regulatory Framework. By working with other governments, agencies and technical standards committees, we can develop, share and implement best practices and reduce regulatory overlap.

What we are doing

The CER advances regulatory cooperation in two main ways:

Cooperative Agreements

One of the ways the CER manages its relationship with other agencies is through Cooperative Agreements (CA). Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) are the most common type of CA. MOUs provide each party to the agreement with a framework for cooperation, assurances about the information exchanged and increased clarity about responsibilities regarding visits and costs related to cooperation initiatives, among other benefits. While most MOUs are not legally binding, they do represent commitments made between the parties who sign them.

See the CER’s cooperative agreements.

Cooperative Forums

The CER aims to advances regulatory cooperation both domestically and internationally by participating in various forums and technical committees. A few examples are below.

Regional and Domestic Forums

Western Regulators Forum

The CER is a member of the Western Regulators Forum (WRF).

The WRF was established to collaboratively pursue mutual priorities among oil and gas regulators in Western Canada, including: the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission (BCOGC), the Ministry of Energy and Resources (Saskatchewan MER), the CER and the Office of the Regulator of Oil and Gas Operations (OROGO).

The structure of the WRF includes a Board, Executive Committee and Secretariat of the member organizations.

For more information on the WRF, please read associated WRF resources:

Strategic Plan – 2018 [PDF 278 KB]
Terms of Reference – 2018 [PDF 521 KB]

Energy Regulators Dialogue – Public Policy Forum

The CER is a steering committee member of the Energy Regulators Dialogue (ERD).

The ERD was established in the Fall of 2018 and was designed to connect Canadian regulators and to create a space in which regulators can share best practices and learn from one another. The group hosts two ‘dialogues’ in the fall and spring. Each session brings together about 20-25 regulators, in a different Canadian city to discuss topics of interest.

The ERD is chaired by the Public Policy Forum and the steering committee members are the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), Ernst and Young, CAMPUT and the CER.

For more information on the ERD, please go to the Public Policy Forum.

  • CAMPUT is a self-supporting, non-profit association of Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial energy and utility regulators. These administrative tribunals are responsible for the regulation of the electric, water, gas, and pipeline utilities in Canada.

International Regulatory Cooperation Forums

The CER actively participates in international forums such as the Network of Economic Regulators (NER) through the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), highlighted below. The CER also meets with policy advisors and regulatory authorities from a wide range of countries to discuss best practices. In recent years, the CER has met with representatives from the UK, Colombia, France and the International Energy Agency.

Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development – Network of Economic Regulators

The CER is a member of the OECD’s Network of Economic Regulators (NER).

The NER is a subcommittee of the OECD’s Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC). It promotes dialogue between over 70 regulators from across the world operating in different sectors like communications, energy, transport and water. Members share their experiences, challenges, and innovative solutions, and together define what makes a “world class regulator” equipped to face the future. The NER is one of the OECD’s most senior-level policy communities and provides complementary strategic insights that feed into the work of the RPC and other OECD bodies.

Other international partners and forums include:

For government-wide regulatory cooperation initiatives go to Government of Canada – Regulatory cooperation.

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