2022–23 Annual Report of the Canada Energy Regulator – A Clear Path Forward

2022–23 was the second year of the CER’s three-year Strategic Plan, which sets out a clear path forward for the organization. The Strategic Plan has three parts:

• The Mission guides the organization’s everyday actions under the CER Act, with safety remaining at the core of its mandate.
• The Vision is aspirational and sets a clear path for where the organization is headed.
• The four interconnected Strategic Priorities reflect areas of cross-organizational focus and improvement to help better deliver on the Mission and reach the Vision. 

The four interconnected Strategic Priorities are Trust and Confidence, Reconciliation, Competitiveness and Data and Digital Innovation.

The following is an update on the Strategic Plan and the Strategic Priorities Implementation Plans.

Trust and Confidence

The CER is committed to delivering a regulatory system that Canadians trust.

The organization is earning that trust and the confidence of Canadians by being transparent, working collaboratively and being responsive to what it hears from stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples. As the CER continues to improve and move forward in its work, it is committed to sharing its progress in an open and transparent manner.

Having the trust and confidence of its own staff is also critical to an empowered workforce. The CER is examining its own workplace practices to ensure it is building a culture that is diverse and inclusive, where all staff feel valued and respected.

In 2022–23, the CER undertook several initiatives in support of this Strategic Priority.

• Develop a National Engagement Strategy and National Indigenous Engagement Blueprint: The CER is committed to ensuring that its work is informed by stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples across Canada. This past year, the CER created a new National Engagement Strategy and Framework that will support staff across all CER Programs to engage in a coordinated way and share the information collected to improve its work.
  
  The CER also developed a National Indigenous Engagement Blueprint to support Indigenous engagement by prioritizing activities and applying a distinctions-based approach. The Blueprint provides further guidance and support to CER staff as they set out to build and maintain relationships and engage in a meaningful way, and to support the continued transformation of culture and organizational behaviour. 
• Continue to foster an engaged, inclusive, and empowered workforce: In 2022–23, the CER continued implementation of its hybrid work initiative to build a safe, more supportive, and inclusive workplace during and after the pandemic. The CER also made significant progress to foster diversity and a culture of belonging for all employees, including specific actions to address misconduct and to support recruitment and advancement of a workforce representative of Canadians.
  
  In addition to addressing issues like unconscious bias, systemic racism, gender-based discrimination and other inequities, this team is actively supporting the CER’s Hybrid Workplace Pilot, including the introduction of an updated Telework Policy, the creation of Guidelines for Hybrid Work, development of a facilities management plan and the initiation of a Leaders’ Community of Practice.
• Strengthen connections with Canadians: One of the ways the CER built stronger connections with people was to increase the number of authentic, two-way conversations on social media. CER staff actively engaged social media users and answered questions, participated in important energy conversations, and gave people the information they needed.
• Create a barrier-free workplace: In December 2022, the CER published its first Accessibility Plan, which outlines a measured and thoughtful approach to policies, programs, practices, and services that will create a more inclusive environment for everyone, and a more accessible workplace for persons with disabilities. All CER leaders are now formally required to include diversity, belonging and inclusion components in their annual performance plans. The CER has been taking steps to re-design portions of its hiring process and to review its human resources policies to remove barriers to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Reconciliation

The CER recognizes that Reconciliation is a journey. It remains committed to implementing UNDA in support of the United Nations Declaration, both of which offer a framework for advancing Indigenous Reconciliation within the CER’s mandate. One of the first steps toward Reconciliation is to renew relationships with Indigenous Peoples in a manner that recognizes and respects their inherent Treaty and constitutional rights, including their right to self-determination. The CER drives meaningful change through its requirements and expectations for regulated industry, which includes adjusting its regulatory approach to be more inclusive of Indigenous People and involving them in oversight activities. The CER also supports its staff in its Reconciliation journey by providing them with education and training.

In June 2022, the CER issued a public Statement on Reconciliation which committed the CER to co-develop with Indigenous communities a collaborative oversight mechanism between the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd (NGTL) System and Indigenous communities along its network of pipelines. Throughout 2022–23, the CER met with 167 participants from 80 First Nations and Métis communities to advance this vital work.

• Strengthen relationships with Indigenous People and communities: The CER continued to develop its plans, tools, and practices to guide its engagement with Indigenous Peoples, including the requirement to take a distinctions-based approach when engaging Indigenous communities. Key activities included the development of an Indigenous procurement strategy that would see Indigenous businesses hold a minimum of five percent of the total value of all CER contracts.
  
  The CER was honoured in December 2022 to sign a memorandum of understanding with Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resource Centre of Excellence, establishing a framework to better incorporate Indigenous knowledge and world views in developing the CER’s Energy Information products. The CER is increasing the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and world views to enhance its ability to create and share energy information relevant to Indigenous Peoples.
• Implement United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act: The CER is aligning its Indigenous rights initiatives with UNDA by completing an analysis of how the UN Declaration intersects with the CER’s mandate. It has engaged experts to explore how to transform these intersections into specific commitments and actions. This initiative supplements the participation of the CER in the broader work of the Government of Canada to develop a draft Action Plan to implement UNDA. On National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, 2022, it shared its Statement on Reconciliation to describe what Reconciliation means to the CER and the principles and values that will guide the CER in its Reconciliation journey.
• Enhance involvement of Indigenous Peoples in regulatory oversight: Through the Indigenous Monitoring Programs, Indigenous monitors and CER Inspections Officers completed 57 compliance verification activities together in 2022–23. These programs also encourage the perspectives of Indigenous Peoples and Communities to be considered in a thoughtful way, ultimately meaning potential impacts are addressed much more effectively.
  • The CER also continued to work closely with the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees (IAMCs) for the Trans Mountain Expansion (IAMC-TMX) and Line 3 Replacement (IAMC-Line 3) Projects throughout 2022–23. The partnerships developed with Indigenous Nations that participate in the IAMCs are helping transform the way the CER and its regulated companies work with Indigenous Peoples. They inform decision-making related to the oversight of both Line 3 and TMX projects in a manner that aligns with the UN Declaration and are a mechanism that support Indigenous Peoples to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the use of their lands or territories. CER’s use of IAMCs help ensure that the world views and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples are meaningfully reflected in the construction, operation and decommissioning of both projects.
  • One of the key accomplishments during 2022–23 was putting IAMC advice into practice. In response to a suggestion from both the Line 3 and TMX IAMCs and the Manitoba Métis Federation, the CER issued a letter in November 2022 to regulated companies outlining expectations for notifying Indigenous Nations and Communities when there is an incident, whether an emergency or not. The CER clarified that companies must know which Indigenous Nations and Communities to engage with, how they wish to be contacted, and have updated contact information for each.
  • The CER has also considered feedback received from the IAMCs during the OPR review, and the IAMCs continue to participate meaningfully in the reviews of the OPR and Filing Manual.
• Improve the CER’s capacity to engage in and lead Reconciliation: The CER is committed to cultivating an Indigenous-inclusive workforce and will increase efforts to recruit, retain and advance Indigenous employees. The CER also made progress in 2022–23 in developing and implementing an Indigenous Cultural Competency and Change Management Framework, which includes several distinct baskets of work such as the National Indigenous Engagement Blueprint, the Indigenous Procurement Strategy, the Elders In-Residence Program, and Indigenous Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement Strategy, and training and learning opportunities.

Competitiveness

The CER Act clearly states the Government of Canada’s commitment to enhancing Canada’s global competitiveness. The CER delivered on that commitment by improving the predictability, transparency, and efficiency of its regulatory processes.

In 2022–23, the CER undertook several initiatives in support of Competitiveness.

• Implement the Regulated Industry Engagement Group: The CER recognized the need to create a permanent engagement structure to support open and transparent dialogue with the industry it regulates. The CER hosted the inaugural meeting of the Regulated Industry Engagement Group (RIEG) at its Calgary offices in October 2022, where participants shared opportunities to drive competitiveness in the sector. The CER is applying the learnings from the session in anticipation of the next meeting scheduled for May 2023. RIEG meeting minutes are available on the CER’s website
• Further explore the CER’s role in Environmental, Social, and Governance: The CER published its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report in October 2022, which explored the CER’s position within the ESG arena. The CER contributes to the Canadian energy industry’s ESG profile by being an effective, transparent, and trusted regulator. The organization will continue to share ESG-related information through energy information publications.
• Update the Onshore Pipeline Regulations: The CER continued its first-ever comprehensive review of the OPR in 2022–23, which includes updates to align the OPR with the CER Act and sets out how the CER will deliver on commitments to enhance Canada’s global competitiveness. The OPR updates are part of how the CER and its regulated companies will transform the way they work with Indigenous Peoples across the lifecycle of regulated facilities. Reconciliation is a prominent theme within the review, building on important work previously completed with the CER’s Indigenous partners, including the IAMCs.
  
  The CER is reviewing the OPR in phases. During the first phase, the CER received input in the areas of Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, engagement and inclusive participation, global competitiveness, safety and environmental protection, and implementation. With the help of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, funding was made available to support the participation of Indigenous Peoples in the first phase of engagement. In response to input from Indigenous Peoples, the OPR Review has joined with the Filing Manual  Update project to plan joint engagement on common issues.
• Prepare for the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: Throughout 2022–23, the CER continued to explore, understand, and prepare for its regulatory role within new emerging energy commodities, such as hydrogen. The CER has engaged with all levels of government and energy regulators domestically and internationally, industry, and other stakeholders to understand the rapidly evolving hydrogen aspects of the energy transition. The CER also provided advice to policymakers when needed and actively contributed the safety perspective to the development of hydrogen standards.
  
  The CER also continued to provide Canadians, Indigenous People, and decision-makers with relevant energy information to help inform Canada’s energy transition to a low-carbon economy. In 2022–23, the CER broadened the scope of the Energy Futures 2023 report (EF2023) to consider how different net-zero pathways to 2050 could impact Canadians. Once released in spring 2023, EF2023 will be the CER’s first long-term outlook to fully model net-zero for the Canadian energy system by 2050. A summary of the engagement is available on the CER website at: Discussion Paper Results – A Summary of What we Heard.
• Improve Transparency and Predictability in Regulatory Processes: The CER continued to focus on increased transparency and predictability for participants of CER application processes in 2022–23. The organization clarified its regulatory requirements through updates to sections of the CER Filing Manual related to supply and markets, confidentiality, and variance applications.

Data and Digital Innovation

The CER continued developing a data and digital innovation culture to support the effective delivery of all areas of its mandate. In 2022–23, this included improvements in public access, use, and analysis of accurate data. Further development of a data and digital innovation culture will enhance energy information from the CER, help with meaningful participation in its processes, and inform decision-making.

In 2022–23, the CER undertook several initiatives in support of Data and Digital Innovation.

• Develop the CER Portal: The CER continued to improve the efficiency of its regulatory process for applicants and participants. In 2022–23, discovery work began on the CER Portal, which will provide single-window access for applicants, participants, Indigenous Peoples, and Canadians to interact with the CER during a regulatory process. This digital solution will automate many manual steps to save time and effort and provide better access to regulatory process information, actions, and tools. The CER Portal will simplify applicant interactions with the CER through easier access and greater visibility of information, and will also help the CER to process applications more efficiently and to provide better access to data for regulatory decision-making and performance reporting visualizations.
• Continue with new data foundation (data and tools) to enable analytics, decision-making, and public participation: The CER continued data mining and structuring regulatory documents to make the CER’s existing data more easily searchable and usable for researchers, analysts, and decision-makers.
• Implement GCDocs: GCDocs transition planning, system configuration and pilot migration were completed in 2022–23, which signaled a step towards updating the CER’s records management system. GCDocs will replace the current aging system allowing for increased stability in this area. Its implementation will not only modernize the CER’s information management processes but create greater efficiencies in the organization’s day-to-day work and allow for greater integration with new technologies.

The CER also released several new products and tools to improve the accessibility of application processes, including new interactive maps and a new search function to make finding information and participating in CER hearing processes easier. It also launched BERDI (Biophysical, Economic, Regional Data and Information), a tool to provide broader internal access across a wide range of topics, including Canada’s land and water, weather and wildlife, species at risk, environmental protection, public safety and other data from Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessments. The CER improved its Operations Regulatory Compliance Application (ORCA) to make the data easier for regulated companies and staff to input, use, and share.

Finally, the Energy Futures 2022 visualization transformed complex material into visual platforms such as infographics and visualizations to make the content easier to understand.

Hybrid Workplace

With the easing of COVID-19 public health restrictions in spring 2022, the CER launched its Hybrid Workplace Initiative to develop a diverse, inclusive and respectful hybrid work environment for all employees across the country to gradually return to the office.

The Hybrid Workplace Initiative provided CER employees access to flexible work arrangements (telework, remote hybrid work and in-person office presence) and a hybrid work environment that supported the CER’s vision of having an exemplary workforce that delivers results for Canadians and meets its legislated mandate.
Based on the values of service excellence, health and safety, diversity and inclusion, management and leadership excellence, and federal alignment, the Initiative aligns with the CER’s Strategic Workforce Plan and the Diversity and Belonging Roadmap.

The Hybrid Workplace Initiative Phase I (April 1 to October 31, 2022) pilot enabled staff to gradually return to the office (RTO), with the easing of some public health restrictions and health and safety measures, including masking and social distancing. Phase II (November 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023) encouraged all employees within commuting distance (150 km) from the Calgary office to return to the office for one day a week. Phase II focused on preparing for April 1, 2023 RTO, as staff were provided the opportunity to work remotely two to three days per week. Preparations focused on refitting facilities, updating the Telework Policy and creating Hybrid Work Guidelines, establishing a Leadership Community of Practice and pro-active communications and change management engagement with staff. Phase III (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024) activities include monitoring the impact of the RTO hybrid model on the CER workforce and conducting a Reflect and Learn for the Hybrid Workplace Initiative Phase II. Phase III will also provide consideration for a Regional Hub Strategy to provide office access to staff located within commuting distance of the CER’s regional offices.

Date modified:

2024-01-22