Message from the Chairperson
It is an honour to present the Canada Energy Regulator’s inaugural Annual Report. It has been nearly one year since the legislation that established the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), the country’s new federal energy regulatory body, came into force.
Launched in August 2019, the CER works to keep energy moving safely and efficiently through Canada’s pipelines and powerlines. The CER’s enabling legislation gave the organization an expanded mandate and a modern governance structure that provides a clear separation between the roles of its Board, CEO and Commission.
The challenge that the CER has been tasked with is to build an energy regulatory system that inspires trust and public confidence on the part of Canadians, in particular Indigenous peoples impacted by CER-regulated infrastructure. The Board of Directors believe that the CER will successfully meet that challenge when the organization fully realizes the commitments of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act (CER Act) to enhance Canada’s global competitiveness and achieve reconciliation with First Nations, the Metis and the Inuit while ensuring safety and protecting people, property and the environment.
Enhancing Canada’s economic competiveness is now core to the CER’s mandate. The organization is committed to making decisions in a predictable way and within time limits, providing certainty to investors and stakeholders, driving innovation and enabling infrastructure projects that create jobs for Canadians.
The CER has been striving to transform all aspects of its work to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Within our first year of operation we will establish an Indigenous Advisory Committee. This Committee will advise the Board of Directors on how the CER can build a new relationship with Indigenous peoples and integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into all facets of the CER’s work.
The CER has also been expanding its Indigenous Monitoring program so that more CER-regulated projects are benefiting from Indigenous knowledge. Transforming how it works with Indigenous peoples will help the CER be a better regulator, improve safety and environmental outcomes, and deliver a more predictable, coherent, and transparent regulatory environment.
Preventing harm is the foundation of how the CER keeps people safe and protects the environment. Over this past year of change, it has continued to develop and enforce rules to protect people, the environment, energy markets and the economy.
The inauguration of the CER came after years of planning and hard work by the exceptional professionals who now work for the organization. In my time as Chairperson, I have been continually impressed by the values, commitment and deep expertise of the CER’s employees. Their passion is what makes the Canada Energy Regulator so compelling and relevant. They are our greatest attribute and provide an essential public service to Canada.
I want to express my appreciation and gratitude to Peter Watson, who retired as the CER’s Chief Executive Officer this year. Peter was the right person with the right background to lead the organization through its transformation over the past several years. His leadership on reconciliation and commitment to meaningful Indigenous engagement are his lasting legacy to the Canada Energy Regulator.
With Peter Watson’s departure, the CER was fortunate to have Sandy Lapointe step in as Acting CEO in March. Her deep knowledge of the CER and her experience as a service leader within the organization made the transition in leadership seamless.
Just days later, that leadership proved invaluable as the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the daily lives of everyone in Canada. Thanks to sound business continuity planning, the organization was able to maintain business operations even as employees transitioned to working from their homes. This major shift allowed the CER to continue to deliver its mandate without interruption.
I want to thank the remarkable professionals who work at the CER for their unwavering commitment to public service.
On behalf of my colleagues on the Board of Directors, I respectfully submit to the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Natural Resources, and provide to Canadians the 2019-20 Canada Energy Regulator Annual Report
The original version was signed by
Cassie J. Doyle,
Chairperson
Board of Directors of the Canada Energy Regulator