Canada Energy Regulator – 2021–22 Departmental Results Report – Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister: The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head: Gitane De Silva

Ministerial portfolio: Natural Resources

Enabling instrument[s]: Canadian Energy Regulator Act (CER Act)^Footnote 67

Year of incorporation / commencement: 2019

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the CER’s website^Footnote 68.

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the "Minister’s mandate letter".^Footnote 69

Operating context

The CER’s mission is to regulate infrastructure to ensure safe and efficient delivery of energy to Canada and the world; protect the environment; recognize and respect the rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada; and, provide timely and relevant energy information and analysis.

The CER’s vision is to be an energy regulator with an exemplary workforce that has the confidence of Canadians; is dedicated to ensuring safety and environmental sustainability; builds strong relationships with First Nations, the Métis, and the Inuit; and enhances Canada’s global competitiveness.

External and internal factors that impacted how the CER fulfilled its mission and vision in 2021–22 included:

COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the world in fiscal 2021–22. For the CER, this meant that most of its staff continued to work from their homes, limiting in-person meetings and travel to protect staff, Indigenous peoples, and the public.

Even with the pandemic's uncertainty, CER staff continued to get the job done, reviewing applications, engaging with Indigenous peoples and stakeholders, and compiling, analyzing, and publishing energy trends. Oversight of energy projects and existing infrastructure evolved and adapted as required. Using learnings from the previous pandemic year, CER staff established new procedures for how to safely conduct inspections, compliance verification activities, and emergency response activities. These measures helped ensure the public, and workers were protected from the hazard of COVID-19.

The CER also implemented a vaccination policy for its staff and developed a Vaccination Attestation Tracking System where employees could verify their vaccination status (in accordance with direction from the Government of Canada). The CER also verified that regulated companies followed strict COVID-19 protocols to manage risks to workers and nearby communities. As the CER navigated this second year in the pandemic, all actions were carried out without compromising safety or environmental protection.

As the world starts to emerge from the pandemic, the CER has prepared to pilot a hybrid workplace model, harnessing some of the individual and collective lessons learned over the past two years. Whatever the future of work looks like, Canadians can be assured that the CER will never compromise safety and the excellence of its services to the public, regulated companies, and Indigenous communities.

State of Industry

Oversight of CER-regulated energy infrastructure continues, as the CER adapted how it conducted its compliance verification activities - including inspections - to protect the health and safety of CER staff, regulated companies, and all those with whom it works closely. As the CER considered COVID-19 a hazard that companies needed to identify and manage, the organization worked to verify that companies were taking all steps required to protect their workers from the impacts caused by the pandemic. Most importantly, all of this work and these modified processes are carried out without compromising safety, oversight or environmental monitoring.

Changing energy market conditions increase the importance and profile of energy information and data, and the CER continued to provide reliable data and information to meet this need, primarily via is Energy Futures 2021. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) released Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP), a comprehensive roadmap of next steps towards achieving Canada’s climate goals. It is the first plan issued under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. The Minister of Natural Resources formally requested that the next iteration of the Energy Futures report be expanded to include modelling consistent with Canada’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The CER committed to engage broadly with stakeholders and partners on the path forward and welcomed continued collaboration with federal counterparts including Natural Resources Canada and the ECCC.

Continuation of CER Act implementation and Strategic Plan

In 2021–22, we continued to implement the CER Act, fostering the trust and confidence of Canadians, advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, enhancing Canada’s global competitiveness and promoting data and digital innovation. The CER has developed and matured our governance model, which includes the diverse perspectives of the CER’s Indigenous Advisory Committee in their advice to the Board of Directors. We have developed and refined processes related to our responsibilities under Crown Consultation, and provided support for integrated impact assessments led by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

The CER has continued to improve regulatory certainty and transparency, and is actively exploring our role in contributing to Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy. Additionally, new regulations and updates to existing regulations are being implemented through a phased approach, including for the Onshore Pipeline Regulations.

Information on the operating context is available on the CER’s website^Footnote 70.

Reporting framework

The CER’s Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2021–22 are shown below.

Date modified:

2023-10-31