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Canadian Energy Regulator Act (S.C. 2019, c. 28, s. 10)

Act current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2022-06-23. Previous Versions

PART 1Canadian Energy Regulator (continued)

Rights and Interests of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada (continued)

Marginal note:Advisory committee

  •  (1) The Regulator must establish an advisory committee for the purpose of enhancing the involvement, under Part 2, of the Indigenous peoples of Canada and Indigenous organizations in respect of pipelines, power lines and offshore renewable energy projects as well as abandoned pipelines.

  • Marginal note:Membership

    (2) The membership of the advisory committee must include at least

    • (a) one person recommended by an Indigenous organization that represents the interests of First Nations;

    • (b) one person recommended by an Indigenous organization that represents the interests of the Inuit; and

    • (c) one person recommended by an Indigenous organization that represents the interests of the Métis.

Marginal note:Confidentiality — Indigenous knowledge

  •  (1) Any Indigenous knowledge that is provided in confidence to the Regulator under this Act or any other Act of Parliament that confers powers, duties or functions on the Regulator is confidential and must not knowingly be, or be permitted to be, disclosed without written consent.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (2) Despite subsection (1), the Indigenous knowledge referred to in that subsection may be disclosed if

    • (a) it is publicly available;

    • (b) the disclosure is necessary for the purposes of procedural fairness and natural justice or for use in legal proceedings; or

    • (c) the disclosure is authorized in the circumstances set out in the regulations made under section 59.

  • Marginal note:Consultation

    (2.1) Before disclosing Indigenous knowledge under paragraph 2(b) for the purposes of procedural fairness and natural justice, the Regulator must consult the person or entity who provided the Indigenous knowledge and the person or entity to whom it is proposed to be disclosed about the scope of the proposed disclosure and potential conditions under subsection (3).

  • Marginal note:Further disclosure

    (3) The Regulator may, having regard to the consultation referred to in subsection (2.1), impose conditions with respect to the disclosure of Indigenous knowledge by any person or entity to whom it is disclosed under paragraph (2)(b) for the purposes of procedural fairness and natural justice.

  • Marginal note:Duty to comply

    (4) The person or entity referred to in subsection (3) must comply with any conditions imposed by the Regulator under that subsection.

  • Marginal note:Protection from civil proceeding or prosecution

    (5) Despite any other Act of Parliament, no civil or criminal proceedings lie against the Regulator or the Minister — or any person acting on behalf of, or under the direction of, either of them — and no proceedings lie against the Crown or the Regulator, for the disclosure in good faith of any Indigenous knowledge under this Act or any other Act of Parliament that confers powers, duties or functions on the Regulator or for any consequences that flow from that disclosure.

Marginal note:Regulations

 The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing the circumstances in which Indigenous knowledge that is provided to the Regulator under this Act in confidence may be disclosed without written consent.

Confidentiality of Information

Marginal note:Confidentiality

 The Commission or a designated officer may take any measures and make any order that the Commission or designated officer considers necessary to ensure the confidentiality of any information likely to be disclosed in any proceedings under this Act if the Commission or designated officer is satisfied that

  • (a) disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in a material loss or gain to a person directly affected by the proceedings, or could reasonably be expected to prejudice the person’s competitive position;

  • (b) the information is financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that is confidential information provided to the Regulator and

    • (i) the information has been consistently treated as confidential information by a person directly affected by the proceedings, and

    • (ii) the Commission or designated officer considers that the person’s interest in confidentiality outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the proceedings; or

  • (c) there is a real and substantial risk that disclosure of the information will compromise the safety and well-being of persons or cause harm to property or the environment.

Marginal note:Confidentiality

 The Commission or a designated officer may take any measures and make any order that the Commission or designated officer considers necessary to ensure the confidentiality of information that is contained in any order under this Act or that is likely to be disclosed in any proceedings under this Act if the Commission or designated officer is satisfied that

  • (a) there is a real and substantial risk that disclosure of the information will pose a risk to the security of pipelines, abandoned pipelines, power lines, offshore renewable energy projects, including buildings, structures or systems — including computer or communication systems, or methods employed to protect them — and the need to prevent disclosure of the information outweighs the public interest in disclosure of orders and proceedings; or

  • (b) there is a real and substantial risk that disclosure of the information will compromise the safety and well-being of persons or cause harm to property or the environment.

Marginal note:Confidentiality

 The Commission or a designated officer may take any measures and make any orders that are necessary to ensure compliance with section 58 or any regulations referred in subsection 114(3).

Decisions and Orders

General

Marginal note:Reasons

  •  (1) The Commission must issue written reasons for each decision or order it makes. A designated officer must do the same for each decision or order they make.

  • Marginal note:Public availability

    (2) The Regulator must make the decisions and orders, and the reasons for them, publicly available.

  • Marginal note:Non-application

    (3) This section does not apply to a decision or order that is made only in relation to the internal administrative affairs of the Regulator.

Marginal note:Enforcement of orders

  •  (1) A decision or order of the Commission, a designated officer or an inspection officer may be made an order of the Federal Court or of a superior court of a province and may be enforced in the same manner as an order of that court as if it had been an order of that court on the date of the decision or order.

  • Marginal note:Procedure

    (2) A decision or order of the Commission, a designated officer or an inspection officer may be made an order of a court in accordance with the usual practice and procedure of the court in such matters, if any, or by the filing with the registrar of the court of a copy of the decision certified by an employee of the Regulator who is authorized by the Chief Executive Officer to certify documents for the purposes of this section under the Regulator’s seal.

  • Marginal note:Effect of revocation or amendment

    (3) If a decision or order of the Commission, a designated officer or an inspection officer that has been made an order of a court is rescinded or varied by a subsequent decision or order, the order of the court is vacated and the decision or order of the Commission, a designated officer or an inspection officer as varied may be made an order of the court in accordance with subsection (2).

Marginal note:Conditions

 A decision or order made by the Commission, a designated officer or an inspection officer under this Act may include any conditions that the Commission, designated officer or inspection officer considers appropriate.

Marginal note:General or particular application

 The Commission or a designated officer may, when making an order, giving a direction, imposing conditions or doing any other thing in relation to a person, do so either generally or in any particular case or class of cases.

Marginal note:Coming into force and cessation of effect — Commission

  •  (1) The Commission may, in issuing, varying or transferring a document of authorization, or when making or varying an order,

    • (a) specify a day on which the document of authorization or order, or any part of it, comes into force or ceases to have effect; or

    • (b) impose conditions governing when the document of authorization or order, or any part of it, comes into force or ceases to have effect.

  • Marginal note:Coming into force and cessation of effect — designated officer or inspection officer

    (2) A designated officer or inspection officer may, when making or varying an order,

    • (a) specify a day on which the order, or any part of it, comes into force or ceases to have effect; or

    • (b) impose conditions governing when the order, or any part of it, comes into force or ceases to have effect.

  • Marginal note:Non-application

    (3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a certificate issued under Part 3.

  • Marginal note:Interim orders

    (4) The Commission, a designated officer or inspection officer may, instead of making an order final in the first instance, make an interim order, and may reserve their decision pending further proceedings in connection with any matter.

Marginal note:Relief

  •  (1) The Commission may make a decision or order that grants, in whole or in part, any application made to the Commission. The decision or order may also include — in addition to or in lieu of the relief applied for — any other relief that the Commission considers appropriate as if the application had been made for that other relief.

  • Marginal note:Non-application

    (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an application made under Part 3 for a certificate.

Reviews and Appeals

Marginal note:Power to review, vary or rescind — Commission

  •  (1) The Commission may review, vary or rescind any decision or order it makes and, if applicable, may re-hear any application before deciding it.

  • Marginal note:Power to vary or rescind — designated officer or inspection officer

    (2) A designated officer or inspection officer may vary or rescind any decision or order they make and, if applicable, may re-hear any application before deciding it.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (3) This section does not apply to a decision or order in relation to an operating licence or authorization to which section 382 or 383 applies or in relation to the approval of a development plan under section 5.1 of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act.

Marginal note:Decisions final

  •  (1) Except as provided for in this Act, every decision or order of the Commission, a designated officer or an inspection officer is final and conclusive.

  • Marginal note:Decision or order

    (2) Any minute or other record of the Commission, a designated officer or an inspection officer or any document issued by one of them, in the form of a decision or order, is considered for the purposes of this section to be a decision or order, as the case may be, of the Commission, the designated officer or the inspection officer.

Marginal note:Appeal to Commission

 An appeal from a decision or order of a designated officer or an inspection officer may be brought before the Commission and the Commission may dismiss or allow the appeal and vary or rescind the decision or order.

Marginal note:Appeal to Federal Court of Appeal

  •  (1) An appeal from a decision or order of the Commission on any question of law or of jurisdiction may be brought in the Federal Court of Appeal with the leave of that Court.

  • Marginal note:Application for leave to appeal

    (2) Leave to appeal must be applied for within 30 days after the date of the decision or order appealed from or within any additional time that a judge of the Court grants in exceptional circumstances.

  • Marginal note:Time limit for appeal

    (3) An appeal must be brought within 60 days after the day on which leave to appeal is granted.

  • Marginal note:Argument by Regulator

    (4) The Regulator is entitled to be heard on an application for leave to appeal and at any stage of an appeal.

  • Marginal note:Costs

    (5) In any appeal under this section, costs may not be awarded against any of the commissioners.

  • Marginal note:Report not decision or order

    (6) For greater certainty, a report submitted by the Commission under section 183 or 184 — or under subsection 51(1) the Impact Assessment Act — is not a decision or order of the Commission for the purposes of this section and neither is any part of the report.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Marginal note:Alternative dispute resolution

  •  (1) If all the parties to a dispute that is directly related to a matter under this Act consent, the Regulator must provide or cause to be provided an alternative dispute resolution process for the dispute.

  • Marginal note:Results

    (2) The results of the alternative dispute resolution process are not binding.

  • Marginal note:Use of results by Commission

    (3) The Commission may take the results of the alternative dispute resolution process into account when making a decision, order or recommendation and may refer to them in the decision, order or recommendation.

  • Marginal note:Use of results by designated officer

    (4) A designated officer may take the results of the alternative dispute resolution process into account when making a decision or order and may refer to them in the decision or order.

  • Marginal note:Public availability of results

    (5) The Regulator may make the results of the alternative dispute resolution process public with the consent of the parties.

Public Engagement

Marginal note:Public engagement

 The Regulator must establish processes that the Regulator considers appropriate to engage meaningfully with the public — and, in particular, the Indigenous peoples of Canada and Indigenous organizations — when public hearings are held under section 52 or subsection 241(3).

Marginal note:Participant funding program

 For the purposes of this Act, the Regulator must establish a participant funding program to facilitate the participation of the public — and, in particular, the Indigenous peoples of Canada and Indigenous organizations — in public hearings under section 52 or subsection 241(3) and any steps leading to those hearings.

Collaborative Processes and Ministerial Arrangements

Marginal note:Collaborative processes

 The Regulator may enter into arrangements with any government or Indigenous organization to establish collaborative processes.

Marginal note:Ministerial arrangements

  •  (1) If regulations are made under section 78, the Minister may, in accordance with those regulations, enter into arrangements with Indigenous governing bodies for carrying out the purposes of this Act and may authorize any Indigenous governing body with whom an arrangement is entered into to exercise the powers or perform the duties and functions under this Act that are specified in the arrangement.

  • Marginal note:Publication

    (2) Within 30 days after the day on which the Minister enters into an arrangement, the Regulator must publish it on the Regulator’s website.

 

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