Canada Energy Regulator – 2023–24 Departmental Plan – Core responsibilities: planned results and resources

This section contains information on the department’s planned results and resources for each of its core responsibilities.

Energy Adjudication

Description

Making decisions or recommendations to the Governor in Council on applications, which include impact assessments, using processes that are fair, transparent, timely and accessible. These applications pertain to pipelines and related facilities, international power lines, offshore renewable energy, tolls and tariffs, compensation disputes resolution, energy exports and imports, and oil and gas exploration and drilling in certain northern and offshore areas of Canada.

Planning highlights

The CER will continue to update and evolve the requirements and guidance issued to proponents. In 2022, the CER launched a process to update the Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment and Lands Sections of the CER Filing Manual^Footnote 13 – the first comprehensive review in over a decade. Throughout 2023–24, we will engage with Indigenous Peoples, industry, provincial and territorial partners and others, and incorporate relevant feedback received through other processes. We will also continue looking for opportunities to align with and integrate information from federal departments and agencies on key topics such as hydrogen, Crown consultations, and cumulative effects to ensure we deliver clear and consistent guidance to proponents in support of a predictable regulatory process.

The CER will continue to explore adjudicative process improvements to enhance the efficiency, predictability, accessibility, and timeliness of reviews, directly supporting our Competitiveness Strategic Priority. Building on the success of the Applications Dashboard^Footnote 14, we will expand the scope to include more project application types, enhancing staff's ability to ensure both legislated time limits and service standards are met. This work will feed into the development of the external CER portal, where applicants will be able to submit and track the progress of applications, enhancing transparency and confidence in the process.

The newly established Crown Consultation team is taking innovative approaches to consultations to meet the Government of Canada’s commitments and obligations with respect to its duty to consult and accommodate in a manner consistent with the UN Declaration. The Crown Consultation team will continue to build relationships with Indigenous Peoples over the coming year, evolving current practices to establish meaningful consultation processes that respect the uniqueness of individual First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities.

To support the Energy Adjudication core responsibility in 2023–24, the CER will:

• publish a Discussion Paper to solicit feedback on key updates to the Environment and Socio-economic Assessment and Lands sections of the Filing Manual^Footnote 15;
• continue to collaborate with other departments to advance work on the assessment and management of cumulative effects;
• finalize supplemental guidance for proponents on GHG emissions;
• conduct a review and learn of the Crown consultation process used for NGTL’s West Path Delivery Project 2023;
• improve accessibility for everyone participating in Energy Adjudication processes by developing the CER portal; and
• consider and prepare for the energy transition and regulation of hydrogen pipelines by reviewing codes and standards, regulations, and guidance to proponents.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

• Section 183.2 (c) of the CER Act outlines GBA Plus factors that must be considered in Commission recommendations to the Minister, such as health, social and economic effects, including with respect to the intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors. The CER has issued filing guidance on assessing GBA Plus requirements in applications and started assessing applications using this guidance.
• Staff with GBA Plus training will continue to review all infrastructure adjudicative processes. The CER’s Hearing Managers, Process Advisors, and Socio-Economic Specialists help ensure that the CER’s early engagement activities, Alternative Dispute Resolution services, and adjudicative processes (including Indigenous knowledge sessions) are accessible to diverse groups, including women, men, gender-diverse, and underrepresented people.

United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Activities under the Energy Adjudication core responsibility include impact assessments which support the CER’s recommendations or decisions to the Governor in Council, which in turn contribute to advancing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. These activities pertain to applications for pipelines and related facilities, international power lines, offshore renewable energy, tolls and tariffs, compensation disputes resolution, energy exports and imports, and oil and gas exploration and drilling in certain northern and offshore areas of Canada.

Innovation

• The CER will assess data associated with adjudication processes to identify linkages and trends among factors such as project type, location, assessment timelines, Information Requests, and conditions imposed by the CER. This work will form the basis for focused process improvement recommendations.
• As COVID-19 restrictions evolve, the CER is working to ensure we can effectively adapt and pivot between in-person and virtual hearing processes, or some combination of both, as required. We will continue to explore ways to maintain benefits of both approaches.

Planned results for Energy Adjudication

The following table shows, for Energy Adjudication, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets, and the target dates for 2023–24, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

The CER has repositioned the Participant Funding program into a Grants and Contributions (G&C) Service in accordance with Treasury Board’s Policy on Service and Digital^Footnote 16. Please refer to the Reporting Framework section of this report for more details on this change.

Planned budgetary spending for Energy Adjudication

The following table shows, for Energy Adjudication, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for Energy Adjudication

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CER’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase^Footnote 17.

Safety and Environment Oversight

Description

Setting and enforcing regulatory expectations for regulated companies over the full lifecycle – construction, operation, and abandonment – of energy-related activities. These activities pertain to pipelines and related facilities, international power lines, offshore renewable energy, tolls and tariffs, energy exports and imports, and oil and gas exploration and drilling in certain northern and offshore areas of Canada.

Planning highlights

Preventing harm is the foundation of how the CER keeps people safe and protects the environment. This year we will continue to focus a significant portion of our oversight on construction to prevent serious incidents that harm people and the environment. The CER enforces some of the strictest safety and environmental standards in the world. We are constantly assessing data and trends from our oversight activities to identify areas where companies can improve. We apply the same lens to our oversight of cyber security and pipeline standards and in areas like safety culture, where we promote sharing of information and collaboration across companies. External factors, like an increasing number of extreme weather events, also drive us to review our oversight and assess changes needed.

The CER is fundamentally transforming our oversight and how we work with Indigenous Peoples, supporting our Reconciliation Strategic Priority. We continue to increase the involvement of Indigenous monitors in our oversight, bringing more Indigenous perspectives into our work and enhancing our oversight tools. We will collaborate with Indigenous groups, other regulators and companies on shared oversight areas, including Sites of Indigenous Significance and land reclamation. The Onshore Pipeline Regulations^Footnote 18 will see changes proposed^Note * that will transform Indigenous Peoples’ involvement in oversight in the future. The CER also expects regulated companies to engage and consult in a way that meets evolving expectations on how best to protect people, the environment and property, and that respects the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples. This year the CER will share areas of best practices for companies in how they work with Indigenous Peoples.

The CER will continue to explore improvements to our oversight processes, systems and tools that will increase the efficiency, transparency, and predictability of our oversight internally and with companies, supporting our Competitiveness Strategic Priority.  Tools we are assessing this year include Engineering Assessments and Information Requests.

To support the Safety and Environment Oversight core responsibility in 2023–24, the CER will:

• strengthen expectations in our oversight of cyber security for industrial control systems, and for process and pipeline safety;
• promote Safety Culture improvements by continuing to host industry workshops to share learnings and approaches, and promoting learning via the Safety Culture Learning Portal^Footnote 19;
• continue to identify technical research projects that will encourage innovative and improved methods to strengthen pipeline integrity;
• identify changes to the CER regulations and related codes, standards and processes to ensure readiness of our oversight for potential future hydrogen energy infrastructure, and collaborate with other regulators to facilitate clarity of mandates and processes for new energy infrastructure;
• use our regulatory oversight tools to ensure industry continues to assess evolving hazards from a growing number of extreme weather events, and ensure our oversight processes, tools, and capacity can respond;
• collaborate with Indigenous groups and communities, other regulators and regulated companies on processes to improve Indigenous oversight, including Sites of Indigenous Significance and issue management and land reclamation;
• develop and deliver Best Practices for regulated companies to use to inform and engage Indigenous communities when a serious incident occurs or for an emergency, and identify other best practices that would improve how regulated companies involve Indigenous communities in oversight;
• develop and engage on proposed areas of change for the Onshore Pipeline Regulations^Footnote 20 update;
• assess and identify potential improvements to transparency and efficiencies with industry related to Engineering Assessments and Information Requests.
• continue the ongoing Abandonment Cost Estimates and Set Aside and Collection Mechanism 2021 Review, to enable effective oversight through accurate estimates and to put in place a repeatable and predictable process to follow every five years; and
• continue to develop and implement a set of processes and procedures for the identification, monitoring, designation, and abandonment of orphan pipelines under the CER Act.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

• The CER will continue to work to ensure that safety and oversight activities do not negatively impact Canadians from identifiable groups. The CER will enforce specific conditions placed on an applicant relating to GBA Plus matters in the application assessment process in subsequent oversight activity.
• The CER conducts a GBA Plus analysis pursuant to the Cabinet Directive on Regulation^Footnote 21 for its regulation development projects. The CER will continue strengthening its regulatory framework by assessing the impact that proposed regulatory framework changes could have on Canadians from identifiable groups.
• Communications with regulated industry will use gender-neutral terms and promote gender-neutral terminology.
• In response to recommendations from an evaluation of the Regulatory Framework Program, the CER will continue to improve its regulatory framework change process so that it is more accessible to all Canadians. In collaboration with other regulators and the Canadian Standards Association, we will endeavour to make relevant standards free and accessible to all. The CER will leverage efforts made through the Data and Digital Innovation Strategic Priority to reach a wider audience for consultations.

United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

• This core responsibility supports SDG 7: Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, in two specific ways. First, through the overall mandate for setting and enforcing regulatory expectations for regulated companies over the entire lifecycle of energy-related facilities. In addition to that, the development of a strategy for oversight of hydrogen in pipelines will position the CER to support the achievement of this SDG into the future.
• The strategy for oversight of hydrogen facilities and pipelines also supports SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

Innovation

• The CER will continue to develop methods to extract environmental and socio-economic data and images from various regulatory filing submissions (such as reclamation reports, construction progress reports, and environmental and socio-economic assessments) to help the regulator and communities – including Indigenous communities – better monitor and gain insights to prevent harm to people and the environment.
• The CER is continuing to work on tools to enable effective collaboration on oversight with Indigenous monitors and improve sharing of information with Indigenous communities via interactive maps.

Planned results for Safety and Environment Oversight

The following table shows, for Safety and Environment Oversight, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets, and the target dates for 2023–24, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Planned budgetary spending for Safety and Environment Oversight

The following table shows, for Safety and Environment Oversight, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for Safety and Environment Oversight

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CER’s Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase^Footnote 22.

Energy Information

Description

Collecting, monitoring, analyzing, and publishing information on energy markets and supply, sources of energy, and the safety and security of pipelines and international power lines.

Planning highlights

Energy plays a fundamental role in the lives of all Canadians. From transportation to home heating to the clothes we wear, every product and service in our country requires energy. Energy information serves to make sense of what is currently going on in the energy sector and where it may go in the future.

The CER’s two Energy Information programs: Energy Systems Information; and Pipeline Information, help inform Canada’s energy conversation by providing energy data and fact-based analysis and modeling to Canadians on energy supply and markets, energy trade, and the energy transition. The CER also focuses on making information related to CER-regulated pipeline infrastructure more transparent and accessible. It publishes data visualizations that make complex data and information understandable to Canadians and helps Canadians navigate the CER regulatory oversight story. This information supports Canada’s public dialogue on energy issues and decision-making by Canadians, governments, industry, and other stakeholders.

The CER is working on several high-profile energy analysis publications and data releases, including:

• Canada’s Energy Future^Footnote 23: the CER’s long-term energy supply and demand outlook. In 2023–24 we will release the next iteration of this report, the CER’s most ambitious Energy Futures report yet. This will be our first long-term outlook to include scenario analysis consistent with Canada achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, as per direction from the Minister of Natural Resources. In addition, the CER will continue to build and improve its energy modeling capabilities to explore the complex and nuanced dynamics of Canada’s pathway to net-zero by 2050.
• Market Snapshots^Footnote 24: regular, brief publications on various energy topics relevant to everyone in Canada. In 2023–24, the CER will continue to produce market snapshots on topics tied to ever-changing energy developments such as electric vehicles, renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture utilization and storage. In addition, the CER will work in partnership with the Saskatchewan First Nations Natural Resource Centre of Excellence to create a market snapshot that visualizes drilling sites on Saskatchewan Treaty lands.
• Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles^Footnote 25: provide an overview of energy production, consumption, transportation and trade for each of Canada’s provinces and territories. The profiles include information on all energy sources, including crude oil and refined products, natural gas, uranium, and renewables. They illustrate the diversity of Canada’s energy systems and provide readers with key facts and new developments in Canada’s energy systems. The 2023–24 release will include updated information and enhanced user experience and accessibility.
• Energy Commodity Statistics^Footnote 26: The CER will continue to publish various statistics updates throughout the year, including historical monthly Canadian Crude Oil and Equivalent and Marketable Natural Gas production by province and territory; imports and exports of natural gas and liquefied natural gas; exports of natural gas liquids; exports of crude oil and refined petroleum products; and imports and exports of electricity.

To support the Energy Information core responsibility in 2023–24, the CER will:

• continue to mature both the Pipeline Information program and the Energy System Information program, to advance transparency, Data and Digital Innovation, Competitiveness, and Reconciliation Strategic Priorities;
• continue to improve modeling expertise and modeling tools;
• continue to develop and implement energy information processes;
• continue to support the Canadian Centre for Energy Information (CCEI) workplan, including through the data standards initiative and content for the CCEI website; and
• improve the Commodity Tracking System (CTS) with increased features, integration, and reporting to add value to all CTS system users.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

• The CER will continue initiatives to improve content, accommodating the diverse needs of Canadians so that it is equally accessible to all audiences.
• Content will be published in both official languages and use and promote gender-neutral terminology.
• All images used in Energy Information publications will depict the diverse nature of the public in a fair, representative, and inclusive manner, including a balance of sex, gender, language, ethnicity/race, religion, age, disability, geography, culture, income, sexual orientation, and education.
• The CER will adhere to the Government of Canada's accessibility guidelines and web accessibility standards. We will develop energy information publications that are colour-blind friendly, use whitespace appropriately, include shorter paragraphs and bulleted lists, employ plain language, and ensure all images and charts have alternative text descriptions to explain what is being shown.
• We will improve page load speeds, make data sets available for download, and provide low-bandwidth interactive charts so that people in remote communities can still access and use CER content.

United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Energy information plays an important role in Canadians’ decisions as Canada transitions towards a low-carbon economy. The CER’s Energy Information core responsibility, including the flagship Energy Futures publication and related series of outlooks, will include analysis of low-carbon options and scenarios. This will contribute to advancing the Government of Canada's support for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly with respect to SDG 7: Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, SDG 8: Clean Growth, and SDG 13: Effective Action on Climate Change.

Innovation

• The CER will continue to test new web development tools to ensure published content is updated in a timely fashion and the information meets the needs of users.
• The CER will explore redesigning the Interactive Pipeline Map^Footnote 27 to better illustrate CER-regulated pipeline infrastructure and its relation to communities and Canada’s broader energy systems.

Planned results for Energy Information

The following table shows, for Energy Information, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets, and the target dates for 2023–24, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Planned budgetary spending for Energy Information

The following table shows, for Energy Information, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for Energy Information

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CER’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.^Footnote 29

Engagement

Description

Engaging nationally and regionally with Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders through open dialogue, asking questions, sharing perspectives, and collaboration. These activities pertain to all decisions and actions related to the Canada Energy Regulator’s legislated mandate.

Planning highlights

The CER is committed to ensuring that our work and the decisions we make are informed by diverse input from people across Canada. We strive to do more than just listen to concerns and share information – we have a duty to be responsive and transparent about how we act on the feedback we receive so that we continue to foster the trust and confidence of Canadians.

The CER continues to evolve its Engagement programs to measure success by the extent to which it meaningfully engages Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders. Meaningful engagement occurs when the CER seeks to understand the issues, interests and changing values of Canadians, and how those relate to regulatory oversight. It is also important to reflect and act on the feedback received, so that input can positively impact and improve the CER’s decisions and its work.

Through the Stakeholder Engagement program and the Indigenous Engagement program, we tailor engagement to reflect the unique needs and interests of those impacted by our work, notably Indigenous Peoples, landowners, provincial and local governments, and regulated industry.

The CER is innovating by exploring new technologies to support virtual and geographically diverse engagement and finding ways to engage and collaborate with parties who have a stake in our decisions and our work. In addition to existing partnerships with the IAMCs^Footnote 30 for Line 3 and TMX, the Land Matters Group Advisory Committee^Footnote 31, and the Aboriginal Liaison Partnership^Footnote 32 in B.C., the CER is proceeding with the development of an initiative^Footnote 33 to co-develop a collaborative mechanism with Indigenous Peoples relating to pipeline compliance and oversight of the NGTL System. In addition, as part of its Competitiveness Strategic Priority, the CER is also creating a framework to engage regulated industry.

To support the Engagement core responsibility in 2023–24, the CER will:

• implement a National Engagement Strategy, a milestone deliverable of the Trust and Confidence and Reconciliation Strategic Priorities, which includes an Indigenous Engagement Strategy to support the organization to:
  • leverage relationships established at the regional and national levels to better understand the views and concerns that inform our decisions and work;
  • conduct engagement in a coordinated manner toward common objectives while embracing reconciliation;
  • share the information we collect through engagement to improve our work; and
  • equip staff with the knowledge, skills, and tools to engage meaningfully.
• remain committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous Peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership. We are transforming the way we work with Indigenous Peoples, with a commitment to implementing the UN Declaration;
• engage regulated companies, Indigenous Peoples, and stakeholders to gather input on important regulatory change initiatives such as the Onshore Pipeline Regulations^Footnote 34 and Filing Manual^Footnote 35; and
• continue improving the cultural competency of the CER and its staff, which is core to the CER’s engagement and Reconciliation activities. The CER is putting training in place to meet the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report – Call to Action 57 – to educate staff on the history of Indigenous Peoples, including their cultural and treaty rights.

Gender-based Analysis Plus

• Engagement measures enable the CER to monitor how effectively it engages a diversity of views to inform its decisions and work.
• The CER has performed outreach to Indigenous partners, landowners, industry and other stakeholders to learn how we can best engage with them. We will continue to plan targeted engagement activities in a way that reflects and incorporates feedback to optimize our reach to diverse stakeholders.

United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Building renewed relationships with our Indigenous partners and stakeholders supports the goals of SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all and SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation, as Indigenous People and stakeholders provide input that improves decision-making, regulatory processes, Indigenous monitoring and oversight, and policy development.

Innovation

• The CER has developed the CER Dialogue^Footnote 36 engagement platform to deliver online engagement and will continue to implement the tool to engage the public in discussion forums, idea boards, and surveys and to seek comments and feedback regarding CER information and publications.
  
  The CER intends to expand this tool to include pages for the Onshore Pipeline Regulations^Footnote 37 and the Regulated Industry Engagement project, in addition to continued use for the Accessible Canada Act^Footnote 38 and other projects as they arise.
• The CER will explore and expand the use of online participatory engagement tools, feedback mechanisms and data-mining techniques. This will help the CER better identify and share information at the community level so that the organization has the right information when meeting with Indigenous communities and stakeholders about community-specific issues.

Planned results for Engagement

The following table shows, for Engagement, the planned results, the result indicators, the targets, and the target dates for 2023–24, and the actual results for the three most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Planned budgetary spending for Engagement

The following table shows, for Engagement, budgetary spending for 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

Planned human resources for Engagement

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CER’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.^Footnote 41

Date modified:

2024-01-22