ARCHIVED - Message from the Chair

On behalf of the National Energy Board, I am pleased to report on our mandate and activities over the past year, April 1, 2016- March 31, 2017.

As Canada’s energy regulator, the NEB has a variety of roles and responsibilities throughout the lifecycle of energy infrastructure – from adjudication of energy project applications, to the provision of energy information, engagement, and constant emphasis on safety oversight and environmental protection. We are committed to strengthening and improving industry wide performance as well as our own performance in these areas. This digital report summarizes highlights of the Board’s activities in this regard over the past year.

In 2016-17 we undertook an ambitious transformation agenda to drive the outcomes of regulatory and management excellence with our eyes on increasing public confidence and improving our performance. Our transformation included the development of an improved internal governance structure and the institution of robust operating practices to better align our resources and activities.

The Board became an early adopter of the Government of Canada’s updated Policy on Results, known as the Departmental Results Framework (DRF). The DRF outlines our four core responsibilities:  Energy Adjudication; Safety and Environment Oversight; Energy Information; and Engagement.   It also illustrates exactly what we do, what we aim to achieve, and how we will report our outcomes to Canadians.  This framework is our blueprint for the way forward and we are pioneering its use.

Another way we’re building public trust is through our focus on providing Canadians with unbiased factual energy and pipeline information.  As part of our efforts to support energy conversations, we have introduced a number of innovative information products. I’m also pleased to say we’ve gone beyond focusing on fossil fuels and have recently published two new reports on renewable energies.

We also fully support the Government of Canada’s review to modernize the NEB’s role, structure, and mandate, and we are committed to helping the Government achieve its objectives. Modernization will reinvigorate the NEB and its mandate. We also fully support the Government’s interim measures published in January 2016.

Our focus on transparency, accountability, and performance, along with ongoing policy and modernization reviews, will help us to respond to Canadians’ expectations. And ongoing policy discussions will lead to shifts that will ultimately create a stronger regulatory system. Canadians need to know that while the Government continues its modernization and environmental assessment review processes, the NEB is doing more than ever to drive regulatory excellence while continuing to assure that pipelines are safe and the environment is protected.

As we move into this new work year, we look forward to continuing our organizational evolution in order to better reflect the expectations of the Canadians we serve.

Peter Watson

Date modified:

2020-09-29