Opening Remarks - Briefing Binder for CER Appearence at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources

Check against delivery / L’allocution fait foi

Introduction

Good afternoon. Bonjour.
Je m’appelle Tracy Sletto et je suis présidente-directrice générale de la Régie de l’énergie du Canada.
Je suis accompagnée par madame Geneviève Carr, docteure en biologie, première viceprésidente de la transparence et de la mobilisation stratégique, et par monsieur Chris Loewen, premier vice-président de la réglementation.

I want to begin by acknowledging that I am on the unceded, ancestral, and traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe [Ah-nish-naw-bae] Nation, who have lived on and cared for the land now known as Ottawa since time immemorial.

Je vous remercie de me donner l’occasion de vous parler du travail de la Régie dans le cadre de votre étude du projet d’agrandissement du réseau de Trans Mountain, ou pour faire plus court, le projet de Trans Mountain.
I will provide a brief overview of the CER’s mandate, how we assess energy infrastructure projects like TMX, the project's current regulatory status, and our continued role, alongside an Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee.

The CER’s mandate is clear: to regulate energy infrastructure in a way that prevents harm and ensures the safe, reliable, competitive and environmentally sustainable delivery of energy to Canada and the world.
We oversee approximately 71,000 km of federally regulated pipelines and 1,500 km of power lines.
Nous jouons un rôle économique important en ce qui concerne les droits et tarifs pipeliniers, ainsi que les exportations d’énergie.
La Régie a aussi un mandat d’information sur l’énergie. Nous fournissons des données et des analyses qui éclairent la prise de décisions et le dialogue sur l’énergie au Canada. Notre série de rapports sur l’avenir énergétique explore divers scénarios auxquels les Canadiens pourraient faire face à long terme dans un monde carboneutre.

When the Commission of the CER makes a recommendation as to whether or not a certificate for a pipeline should be issued by the Governor in Council, it must consider several factors: safety, economic, environmental and social. This was true in the case of TMX.
TMX is a particularly large and complex project and the CER strived, at all times, to ensure it demonstrated a commitment to strong, responsive and inclusive regulatory practices and processes.
The Governor in Council approved the project in June 2019, subject to 156 legally binding conditions, in addition to the regulatory requirements that apply to all companies regulated by the CER. Since then, we have been focused on ensuring the project was constructed safely, and on verifying company compliance with regulatory requirements.
The Commission of the CER issued the final authorization for TMX to operate on April 30th, 2024. This enabled the company to begin transporting product in the new line from its Edmonton Terminal to its Westridge Marine Terminal.
Notre rôle ne s’arrête pas maintenant que la construction est terminée. En tant qu’organisme de réglementation pendant tout le cycle de vie des installations, nous continuerons de veiller à ce que la société respecte les conditions, les règlements, les codes et les normes établis.

The CER is also an economic regulator that oversees pipeline tolls. Tolls are the fees a pipeline company charges its customers to ship products, such as oil, on its pipeline. A company can only charge tolls that have been filed with the CER.
The Commission approved preliminary interim tolls for the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system in November 2023.
The next step for the Commission is the final interim tolls hearing that will continue throughout 2024 and into 2025, which will include a detailed cost review of the project.

J’aimerais profiter de l’occasion pour souligner un autre élément clé de la surveillance réglementaire du projet de Trans Mountain.
Lorsque le gouvernement du Canada a approuvé le projet en 2016, il s’est aussi engagé à mettre sur pied un comité consultatif et de surveillance autochtone pour le projet.
The IAMC includes Indigenous representatives selected from among the 129 communities impacted by the project.
Together, alongside the CER and five other federal government departments, the IAMC developed innovative approaches to Indigenous monitoring, project notification, the protection of Sites of Indigenous Significance, and new emergency management processes and protocols. Several of these improvements have since been incorporated into CER practices and regulatory requirements that apply to all companies.
The CER will continue working with the IAMC throughout the pipeline’s lifecycle.

Looking forward, the CER is committed to continual improvement as a national energy regulator, with an eye to building and maintaining trust and confidence in its work, advancing Reconciliation and implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, enhancing Canada’s global competitiveness through leadership in regulatory innovation and best practices, and preparing for the energy future.
Je tiens à vous remercier de nouveau de m’avoir donné l’occasion de vous parler du travail de la Régie et de notre rôle à l’égard du projet de Trans Mountain. Je suis prête à répondre à vos questions.