ARCHIVED – National Energy Board – 2017–18 Departmental Results Report – Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

Raison d’être

The National Energy Board is an independent federal regulator of several parts of Canada’s energy industry. It regulates pipelines, energy development and trade on behalf of Canadians in a way that protects the public and the environment while supporting efficient markets. The Minister of Natural Resources is responsible for this organization.

Mandate and role

The NEB is required to deliver the following results for each of its four core responsibility areas under its mandate:

• Energy Adjudication: Energy adjudication processes are fair, timely, transparent and accessible.
• Safety and Environmental Oversight: Harm to people and the environment, through the lifecycle of energy-related infrastructure, is prevented.
• Energy Information: Canadians have access to and use energy information for knowledge, research and decision making, access to community-specific NEB-regulated infrastructure information, and opportunities to collaborate and provide feedback on NEB information products.
• Engagement: Stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples share their perspectives and provide feedback regarding the NEB’s mandate and role, and NEB engagement activities with stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples are meaningful.

We work in a way that demonstrates our commitment to the Values and Ethics Code for the public sector, regulatory excellence, exemplary leadership, continuous improvement, and an emphasis on the prevention of harm to better serve the public interest. This means we:

• Act beyond reproach in a transparent, fair, unbiased and evidence-based manner;
• Demonstrate our technical expertise and system-wide oversight and influence;
• Engage and build meaningful relationships with stakeholders and Indigenous peoples; and
• Measure, report on and take action to improve our performance in an open and accessible way.

The NEB’s mandate is established by the National Energy Board (NEB) Act. In specified areas^{Footnote 1}, the NEB has regulatory responsibilities for oil and gas exploration and production activities under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (COGOA), the Canada Petroleum Resources Act (CPRA), and the Northwest Territories’ Oil and Gas Operations Act (OGOA) and Petroleum Resources Act (PRA). In addition, the Board also conducts environmental assessments as required by federal legislation, such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012), the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, and the Inuvialuit Final Agreement or the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement for certain projects. Certain Board inspectors are appointed Health and Safety Officers by the Minister of Labour to administer Part II of the Canada Labour Code as it applies to NEB-regulated facilities and activities. The NEB also monitors aspects of energy supply, demand, production, development and trade.

The NEB reports to Parliament through the Minister of Natural Resources.

For more general information about the department, see the “Supplementary information” section of this report. For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.