CER – Fiscal Year 2023–24 Departmental results report: At a glance

A Departmental Results Report provides an account of actual accomplishments against plans, priorities and expected results set out in the associated Departmental Plan.

• Vision, mission, raison d’être and operating context
• Minister’s mandate letter

Key Priorities

The Canada Energy Regulator’s (CER) top priorities for 2023-24 were as follows:

• Trust and Confidence, with a focus on fostering the trust and confidence of Canadians through robust communications, transparency, collaboration and inclusive engagement. Staff and leaders concentrated on engaging respectfully with Indigenous Peoples and Canadians and developing an even more engaged and empowered workforce. Accomplishments included:
• National Engagement Plan: The CER approved and launched the National Engagement Plan, a key deliverable under the Engagement Core Responsibility.
• Engagement Initiatives: The CER supported several engagement initiatives designed to gather the input of Canadians and influence the CER’s decisions and work. These initiatives provide insight and information to enhance damage prevention and safety outcomes. Key initiatives over the past year are detailed in this report under “Results – what we achieved” (Engagement).
• Diversity and Belonging Roadmap: CER staff led advancements on the Diversity and Belonging Roadmap, including the launch of new coaching and mentoring programs, updates to Human Resources policies and tools to remove barriers in recruitment practices, and mandatory training for leaders on Duty to Accommodate responsibilities.
• Accessibility Plan: The CER delivered its first progress report on the Accessibility Plan, highlighting the completion of 11 actions in support of a barrier-free Canada by 2040, to the Accessibility Commissioner.
• Hybrid Workplace Approach: The CER implemented its long-term Hybrid Workplace Approach and new Telework and Hybrid Work Guidelines.
• Culture Assessment and Strategic Workforce Plan: In 2023-24, the CER assessed its organizational culture to encourage an engaged, empowered workforce and to support its mission as an effective, efficient, and trusted regulator. The objectives of the assessment were to determine key aspects of the current and desired culture, conduct a gap analysis, and identify and define behaviours that represent the desired culture. Follow-up activities stemming from the assessment have been integrated into the CER’s Strategic Workforce Plan.
• Reconciliation, highlighting our commitment to the ongoing process of Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and taking meaningful actions in that direction – including the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration). Accomplishments included:

• Continuing to implement the UN Declaration Act: With the support and leadership of our Board of Directors and Indigenous Advisory Committee, the CER worked alongside the Trans Mountain Expansion – Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee (TMX-IAMC) and Natural Resources Canada to co-develop a measure in the UN Declaration Act Action Plan that was released on 21 June 2023. The CER has been dedicated to implementing the UN Declaration and Action Plan Measure 34 (APM 34)^Footnote 1 will help advance these efforts in a focused and coordinated way.

• Building the CER’s Indigenous cultural intelligence: Building Indigenous cultural capacity is essential for the CER to fulfill its Reconciliation and APM 34 commitments. CER employees’ interactions with Indigenous Peoples are guided by their specific rights-and interests-based concerns regarding the CER’s regulatory work. Fostering cross-cultural dialogue as the foundation for building relationships contributes to advancing Reconciliation.

  The Indigenous Cultural Intelligence and Change Management Framework (ICICMF) is the cornerstone for individual and organization-wide transformative change; it supports the CER in building strong relationships with Indigenous Peoples. Its components include:

  • National Indigenous Engagement Blueprint: Guiding the CER’s engagement approach with Indigenous Peoples organization wide.
  • Indigenous Procurement Strategy: Supporting Indigenous businesses and economic Reconciliation.
  • Indigenous Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement Strategy: Building a robust Indigenous workforce within the CER.
  • Elders-In-Residence Program: Integrating Indigenous knowledge and ceremony into CER operations.

  The ICICMF also educates CER staff to be proactive change agents in an evolving relationship with Indigenous Peoples. This is achieved through training sessions, Indigenous Art Markets, guest speakers for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and ceremonial participation with Indigenous groups like the Trans Mountain Expansion and Line 3 Indigenous Advisory Monitoring Committees (IAMCs), furthering our commitment to the meaningful advancement of Reconciliation.

• Indigenous involvement in oversight: In 2023-24, the CER continued to demonstrate its commitment to co-developing a broader systemic model for Indigenous Peoples’ involvement in compliance and oversight of new major CER-regulated projects and existing infrastructure by including language^Footnote 2 in APM 34. In 2023-24, Indigenous Monitors participated in 54 CER compliance verification activities.
• CER’s relationship with the IAMCs: The CER’s relationship with the IAMCs for the Trans Mountain Expansion and Line 3 Replacement Projects remained a top priority throughout 2023-24. The IAMCs help provide for better oversight of the Trans Mountain Expansion and Line 3 Projects in a manner that aligns with the UN Declaration to achieve the Government of Canada’s commitment to Reconciliation. They also lead to a partnership-based approach to oversight among federal and Indigenous Committee members, support Indigenous engagement, and the provision of advice and recommendations grounded in technical expertise. The IAMCs provide a forum for Indigenous communities, regulators, and the federal government to work collaboratively with proponents to better understand industry standards and technical matters associated with pipeline and marine safety, emergency planning and response, and socio-economic impacts. Key achievements accomplished over the past year with the IAMCs are reflected in this report under Indigenous Engagement.
• Publishing pipeline and energy information products with input from Indigenous Peoples: Through the CER’s Memorandum of Understanding with the Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resource Centre of Excellence (SFNNRCOE), 2023-24 saw the start of a SFNNRCOE - CER Energy Data Project, including the creation of a public data set and story map of wells on Treaty Lands in Saskatchewan, which was shared with SFNNRCOE for feedback. The growth in Indigenous ownership in Canadian renewable energy projects was also highlighted in a CER Market Snapshot published on 21 June 2023, National Indigenous Peoples Day.
• Competitiveness, to improve the transparency, predictability, and efficiency of the CER’s regulatory work; drive innovation that contributes to the transition to a low-carbon economy; and research the future Canadian energy landscape to help prepare for the transition to a new low-carbon economy. Accomplishments included:
  • Engaging directly with regulated industry: The CER is committed to enhancing its ongoing dialogue with regulated companies. This dialogue directly supports the CER’s continuous improvement work and industry innovation to meet the changing needs of Canadians and the energy sector. After developing and launching the Regulated Industry Engagement Group in October 2022, two meetings were held in 2023 with regulated industry building momentum behind this engagement initiative. Participants in those meetings discussed best practices, regulatory efficiency initiatives and upcoming regulatory changes. These types of discussions foster a predictable regulatory environment and support regulatory innovation.
  • Improved transparency and predictability in regulatory processes: The predictability and timeliness of completeness decisions for regulatory applications had been identified as an area needing improvement. The decision on NorthRiver Midstream’s NEBC Connector Project marked the first time since 2015 that a pipeline project with supplemental Crown consultation was approved with no extensions to the 90-day time limit for a Governor in Council (GIC) decision. The CER’s approach taken on engagement and consultation to ensure issues were identified and addressed early and throughout the hearing process enabled GIC to meet this time limit. The CER has also improved its time from application filing to completeness determination for small pipeline applications, providing greater certainty to regulated companies. The increased predictability and timeliness in supporting such decisions has been a noticeable improvement in the way that assessment processes are executed, without compromising the integrity of the CER’s regulatory oversight. Additional work in this area will continue in the coming year.
  • Onshore Pipeline Regulations and Filing Manuals Review: The CER continued its comprehensive review of the Onshore Pipeline Regulations (OPR) and Filing Manuals in 2023-24. The review is part of how the CER will deliver on commitments to enhance competitiveness and regulatory excellence and transform the way it and regulated companies work with Indigenous Peoples across the lifecycle of regulated facilities. In 2023-24, the CER published a "What We Heard” report based on key themes from the first phase of engagement. The organization also held a pilot workshop with the Trans Mountain Expansion and Line 3 IAMCs to discuss measures to prevent and address impacts to the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples.

  • Transition to a low-carbon economy: The CER’s Market Snapshot series furthered the CER’s goal of providing Canadians with a neutral source of timely and relevant energy information and analysis. In 2023-24, the focus of this work remained broad with an increase in data and analysis focused on the transition to lower carbon energy alternatives with eight Market Snapshots highlighting renewable energy.

    The CER has been instrumental in updating the Canadian Standards Association’s CSA Z662 to now include hydrogen in the standard. Such an update provides clarity for pipeline companies to innovate in this space. Providing this degree of clarity is part of the journey in driving innovation which will include in the future, consideration of regulatory requirements for transportation of ammonia and carbon dioxide.

  • Canada's Energy Future 2023: In June 2023, the CER published Canada's Energy Future 2023: Energy Supply and Demand Projections to 2050. The report was the CER’s first long-term energy outlook to include fully modelled net-zero scenarios. The report explores a key question about Canada’s energy future: what could reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 look like? This report is not a prediction or a recommendation but presents net-zero scenarios that can help Canadians and policy makers see what a net-zero world could look like, visualize the goal, and make informed decisions. Providing neutral and evidence-based energy information and data like the Canada's Energy Future report helps inform the transition to a low-carbon economy.
• Data and Digital Innovation, supporting the creation of a data and digital innovation culture. Accomplishments included:
  • Providing insights with data: The CER has made energy information more accessible to Canadians by launching the Energy Futures Net-Zero Data Visualization. This platform transforms complex data into an easy-to-understand visual format.
  • Increasing efficiency with digital tools: The CER has delivered the first pilot release of the CER Portal, which includes functionality and features for CER staff. The CER Portal is a secure and integrated access point for the CER's adjudication tools and, eventually, all aspects of the CER-regulated facility lifecycle. When completed, this portal will be used by companies for application and document submissions, as well as by CER staff, the Commission, and participants in CER processes. The CER Portal is designed to streamline processes by automating workflows, collecting structured information, enhancing data accuracy, saving time, and ensuring consistent decisions.
  • Improving accuracy with innovation: The CER requires companies to set aside money to pay for future pipeline abandonment work. This includes cleaning up the surrounding area until it is reclaimed to meet the conditions of the abandonment approval. CER staff has built a Geographic Information System-based method to support the Abandonment Cost Estimate calculation to reduce processing time and human error. This standardizes the calculation method and enhances the transparency of the formulas and data used for estimations.
  • Advancing CER OneData: Accurate and accessible data is essential for an effective regulatory system. Integrated data and information systems enable the CER to use data more effectively, collect and analyze data more efficiently, and share data more widely. Since the beginning of 2023-24, the organization has increased the percentage of CER regulatory data that is in OneData, our organization-wide accessible database, by 40 percent over the prior year, with 80 percent of regulatory data now in the database.
  • Enhancing accessibility of digital products: The CER is advancing accessibility for information communications technology to ensure access to digital products for all Canadians, in line with the CER Accessibility Plan. The plan includes the Information and Communication Technology Accessibility Initiative, which evaluated and provided recommendations for improving the accessibility of the CER’s digital products.
  • Increasing data competencies: implementation of a CER Data job family to attract and retain talent and establish technical competency requirements was initiated this year.

Highlights

In 2023-24, total actual spending (including internal services) for the CER was $113,668,265 and total full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) was 570.9. For complete information on the CER’s total spending and human resources, read the Spending and human resources section of the full report.

The following provides a summary of the department’s achievements in 2023-24 according to its approved Departmental Results Framework. A Departmental Results Framework consists of a department’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.

Date modified:

2024-10-08