ARCHIVED – National Energy Board – 2013-14 Departmental Performance Report

National Energy Board – 2013-14 Departmental Performance Report [PDF 362 KB]

2013-14
Departmental Performance Report

National Energy Board

The original version was signed by
C. Peter Watson, P.Eng.
Chair and CEO

National Energy Board

The original version was signed by
The Honourable Greg Rickford, P.C., M.P.
Minister

Natural Resources

ISSN 2368-1292

Copyright/Permission to Reproduce

Table of Contents

Foreword

Message from the Chair and CEO

Section I: Organizational Expenditure Overview

• Organizational Profile
• Organizational Context
• Actual Expenditures
• Alignment of Spending With the Whole-of-Government Framework
• Departmental Spending Trend
• Estimates by Vote

Section II: Analysis of Program(s) by Strategic Outcome

• Strategic Outcome – The regulation of pipelines, power lines, energy development and energy trade contributes to the safety of Canadians, the protection of the environment and efficient energy infrastructure and markets, while respecting the rights and interests of those affected by NEB decisions and recommendations
  • Program 1.1: Energy Regulation
    • Sub-Program 1.1.1: Energy Regulation Development
    • Sub-Program 1.1.2: Energy Regulation Implementation, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement
  • Program 1.2: Energy Information
  • Internal Services

Section III: Supplementary Information

• Financial Statements Highlights
• Financial Statements
• Supplementary Information Tables
• Tax Expenditures and Evaluations

Section IV: Organizational Contact Information

Appendix: Definitions

Endnotes

Foreword

Departmental Performance Reports are part of the Estimates family of documents. Estimates documents support appropriation acts, which specify the amounts and broad purposes for which funds can be spent by the government. The Estimates document family has three parts.

Part I (Government Expenditure Plan) provides an overview of federal spending.

Part II (Main Estimates) lists the financial resources required by individual departments, agencies and Crown corporations for the upcoming fiscal year.

Part III (Departmental Expenditure Plans) consists of two documents. Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPPs) are expenditure plans for each appropriated department and agency (excluding Crown corporations). They describe departmental priorities, strategic outcomes, programs, expected results and associated resource requirements, covering a three-year period beginning with the year indicated in the title of the report. Departmental Performance Reports (DPRs) are individual department and agency accounts of actual performance, for the most recently completed fiscal year, against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in their respective RPPs. DPRs inform parliamentarians and Canadians of the results achieved by government organizations for Canadians.

Additionally, Supplementary Estimates documents present information on spending requirements that were either not sufficiently developed in time for inclusion in the Main Estimates or were subsequently refined to account for developments in particular programs and services.

The financial information in DPRs is drawn directly from authorities presented in the Main Estimates and the planned spending information in RPPs. The financial information in DPRs is also consistent with information in the Public Accounts of Canada. The Public Accounts of Canada include the Government of Canada Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, the Consolidated Statement of Operations and Accumulated Deficit, the Consolidated Statement of Change in Net Debt, and the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow, as well as details of financial operations segregated by ministerial portfolio for a given fiscal year. For the DPR, two types of financial information are drawn from the Public Accounts of Canada: authorities available for use by an appropriated organization for the fiscal year, and authorities used for that same fiscal year. The latter corresponds to actual spending as presented in the DPR.

The Treasury Board Policy on Management, Resources and Results Structures further strengthens the alignment of the performance information presented in DPRs, other Estimates documents and the Public Accounts of Canada. The policy establishes the Program Alignment Architecture of appropriated organizations as the structure against which financial and non-financial performance information is provided for Estimates and parliamentary reporting. The same reporting structure applies irrespective of whether the organization is reporting in the Main Estimates, the RPP, the DPR or the Public Accounts of Canada.

A number of changes have been made to DPRs for 2013−14 to better support decisions on appropriations. Where applicable, DPRs now provide financial, human resources and performance information in Section II at the lowest level of the organization’s Program Alignment Architecture.

In addition, the DPR’s format and terminology have been revised to provide greater clarity, consistency and a strengthened emphasis on Estimates and Public Accounts information. As well, departmental reporting on the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy has been consolidated into a new supplementary information table posted on departmental websites. This new table brings together all of the components of the Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy formerly presented in DPRs and on departmental websites, including reporting on the Greening of Government Operations and Strategic Environmental Assessments. Section III of the report provides a link to the new table on the organization’s website. Finally, definitions of terminology are now provided in an appendix.

Message from the Chair and CEO

I am pleased to present the National Energy Board’s (NEB or Board) Departmental Performance Report (DPR) for 2013-14. The NEB’s mandate is to regulate pipelines, international power lines and designated interprovincial power lines under federal jurisdiction, and energy development and trade in the Canadian public interest. It is the Board’s responsibility to hold those it regulates accountable for results that protect the safety of Canadians and the environment.

As a key component of the NEB’s Action Plan on Safety and Environmental Protection, the Board held a Safety Forum in June 2013. The event facilitated dialogue among a broad range of stakeholders on safety management and opportunities to improve safety outcomes. Board staff, in collaboration with the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, developed and publicly released the draft Safety Culture definition and framework in January 2014.

We continued to implement changes to the NEB Act resulting from the Government’s Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act and the Economic Action Plan (2012), including strengthening our safety oversight by increasing the number of inspections from 100 to 153 and doubling the number of audits conducted from 3 to 6. Our enforcement framework was made more robust through the development and implementation of administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) to verify and enforce company compliance with NEB regulations. AMPs allows the Board to issue financial penalties on companies or individuals for non-compliance with the NEB Act, regulations, decisions, permits, orders, licenses or certificate conditions intended to promote safety or environmental protection.

The NEB continued to actively engage Northerners and Northern institutions in support of shared safety and environmental protection objectives. The Board also completed devolution of oil and gas regulatory functions to the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) and signed a Service Agreement to allow the NEB to provide GNWT with technical services and advice.

A flexible, efficient and proactive organization is required for the Board to achieve its strategic outcome and priorities while responding to unprecedented demands for NEB services. Increased activity and heightened public attention and expectation have demanded improved business processes for integrated planning and risk management. The development of a comprehensive communications strategy will focus our public engagement, media relations and stakeholder outreach activities. Early engagement with Aboriginal peoples helps us to ensure meaningful participation by Aboriginal peoples in our hearing process.

Our workload continues to grow, the environment in which the Board regulates has changed dramatically, issues before the Board have increased in complexity, and public interest in our processes and activities are at record levels. The NEB is made up of knowledgeable Board Members and staff who are dedicated to meeting our mandate on behalf of Canadians, and who will strive for continuous improvement and innovation to meet the challenges we face.

C. Peter Watson, P.Eng.

Chair and CEO

Date modified:

2020-09-29