2022–23 Annual Report of the Canada Energy Regulator – Overview of the Canada Energy Regulator (CER)

XXX

Governance

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors (Board) is responsible for the governance of the CER, including providing strategic advice and direction. The Board’s oversight focuses on results and outcomes.

Chief Executive Officer

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is responsible for the management and daily operations and affairs of the organization, including the supervision of its employees and their work, and has the responsibilities of a deputy head.

Commission of the CER

The Commission of the CER (Commission) is responsible for adjudicative decisions and recommendations pursuant to the CER Act and other legislation. The Commission is part of the CER and, although its adjudicative role is independent, it contributes to the overall effective delivery of the CER’s mandate and corporate outcomes.

Further information about the Commission can be found in the 2022–23 Annual Report of the Commission.

Indigenous Advisory Committee

The IAC provides broad and strategic advice directly to the Board, from how the CER can build new relationships with Indigenous Peoples to influencing the Strategic Plan and impacting how the entire organization works.

Indigenous Advisory Committee

The CER’s IAC was established in August 2020 to provide strategic advice to the Board on building a renewed relationship with First Nations, the Métis Nation, and Inuit communities. The IAC’s work is guided by a robust three-year Work Plan and terms of reference co-endorsed by the IAC and the Board. It has grown from developing relationships between the IAC, Board, and CER, and influencing the Strategic Plan, to impacting the entire organization’s work. The IAC, and its recommendations, are helping advance Reconciliation throughout the CER.

The IAC had previously developed an ambitious three-year IAC Work Plan that identifies five work priorities for 2021–2024: relationships and governance; the UN Declaration; cultural competency and change management; Indigenous Peoples’ involvement in regulatory oversight; and Crown consultation and accommodation.

With the support of CER staff, the IAC and Board co-developed the CER’s Statement on Reconciliation in 2022–23. The Statement helps ground the CER’s Reconciliation work. It sets out a series of guiding principles and values that serve as guideposts for the CER as it moves forwards on its Reconciliation journey.

The IAC’s advice has directly influenced the work of the CER in a variety of areas, including the CER’s Crown consultation and accommodation approach, the engagement approach for the comprehensive review of the OPR and the Filing Manual Update process, the CER’s National Indigenous Engagement Plan, and how the CER shapes and implements its Cultural Competency Framework, particularly with regards to the CER’s Indigenous Retention, Recruitment and Advancement Initiative.

The CER released its first annual IAC Progress and Impact Report in March 2022. The second iteration will be published in summer 2023. As the IAC moves into the third year of its Work Plan, IAC Members turned their attention to the future of the Committee, including succession planning and future areas of work.

Eagle flying

Context

The CER regulates federal infrastructure to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of energy to Canada and the world, protecting the environment, recognizing and respecting the rights of the Indigenous Peoples, and providing timely and relevant energy information and analysis.

Preventing harm is the foundation of how the CER keeps people safe and protects the environment. It enforces some of the strictest safety and environmental standards in the world, and this oversight goes beyond simply compliance. The CER expects companies to adopt new technologies and innovative approaches to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their management system in preventing harm.

Expected Results

  • There is no harm to people and the environment throughout the lifecycle of energy-related activities.
  • Energy adjudication processes are fair, timely, transparent, and accessible.
  • Canadians have access to relevant energy and pipeline information for knowledge, research or decision-making.
  • Feedback provided by stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples informs the CER’s decisions and work.
  • The right governance, resources, management systems, programs and services are in place to deliver on program results.

Oilfield equipment and pipeline

Date modified: