Evidence of meeting #52 for Natural Resources in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was pipeline.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:10 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, National Energy Board
I can't speak right now to what it's going to look like, but it's going to be more than what there is right now.
5:10 p.m.
NDP
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Thanks. I'll ask one more question on public reporting.
Now that there's a requirement of liability coverage, either through insurance or through some other financial assurances, is that going to be reported publicly? On whether companies have it and what kind of financial assurance they have such that they can cover their liability obligations, is there any kind of public reporting out on that?
5:10 p.m.
Director, Regulatory Approaches, National Energy Board
Again, thank you for the question.
All companies will be required to comply with the law. The law will state that they need to, for financial resources, have a minimum of whatever the applicable limit of absolute liability is. That will be something that they are required to have and, at the request of the board, they will need to demonstrate they have it.
With respect to the implementation aspect—
5:15 p.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Guy Caron
Thank you very much. We are really restricted by time.
Mr. Regan, you have five minutes.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Can you provide details in writing of which programs from 2012 will be sunsetting in two years and how much funding is involved with each program?
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Thank you.
Has the board been having difficulty retaining its engineers, as some media reports have indicated? Is this part of the normal attrition rate or are other factors at play?
5:15 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, National Energy Board
Thank you for that question.
I think it's fair to say that there has been a challenge in the Calgary market in past years. Things are getting better.
5:15 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, National Energy Board
I was referring to engineers.
I'll ask Dr. Steedman to provide more detail.
5:15 p.m.
Chief Environment Officer, National Energy Board
Thank you.
Just very generally, our ability to attract engineers is very strong at the junior and intermediate levels. The market is such that it's a little harder for us to recruit them at the senior levels, but we've found ways around that. We find senior folks who may have retired from industry, have a wealth of knowledge, and are very interested in the public interest and serving the public, and we can bring them in. We're exploring ways in which we can even bring in engineers who may have retired from the public service, for a certain period of time each year. There are lots of ways to do that.
The National Energy Board's overall compensation package and the kind of workplace we are is very attractive to some kinds of people, not all the technical people in the oil patch, for example, so we're doing okay, but it is definitely more work to attract senior engineers.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Would I be right that bringing someone in on contract in the way you describe, with regard to people who have retired from industry or who have left the department, would be more costly than having someone on staff?
5:15 p.m.
Chief Environment Officer, National Energy Board
Not necessarily. They may not come in on contract. They may compete or be hired as a regular employee.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
We talked already today about social licence and the issue of public trust. Given new authorities that the NEB has under Bill C-46, obviously it seems to me that the public trust is even more important.
Some people are suggesting that the confidence in the NEB has been shaken lately in light of the fact that senior engineers are under investigation by their own professional association. It's been reported that the engineers in question have been looking into allegations of natural gas pipeline safety code violations. What, if anything, is the NEB doing to restore public confidence in light of this?
5:15 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, National Energy Board
First, let me say that this matter is under investigation. Therefore, we're not going to be discussing the details, and certainly the NEB is cooperating fully with the professional office to make sure the investigation is under way.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
I should have said that I don't expect you to comment on the investigation, but I guess the question is, what, if anything, is the NEB doing to restore public confidence?
5:15 p.m.
Chief Operating Officer, National Energy Board
There is confidence and our board members and staff are committed to fairness, to taking action, and to doing the right thing for Canadians, and we also have the dedication and the capacity to deliver. We recognize that there's always room for improvement. As I've talked about in my statement, we've set three priorities for ourselves to guide the NEB in the months and years ahead.
Our top priority remains safety. Our objective is to continually strive for zero incidents. To do so, we will continue to raise our performance on safety oversight. We're redoubling our efforts to reach out to Canadians, to build better understanding, and to improve trust and confidence in the NEB. Many Canadians don't know what the NEB does, so it's really a matter of explaining our role more than anything else.
Our third priority is regulatory excellence. Simply put, we're committed to evaluating and improving our own processes and activities to help ensure that we're as effective as we can be. Our chairman has frequently said this. The energy debate in Canada is complicated. It provokes strong and often polarized opinions, so never has the NEB been so clearly at the centre of public attention. We think that by focusing on the mandate that's entrusted to us by Parliament and continuously striving to be better at what we do, we will continue to deliver on our overarching responsibility to regulate in the public interest of all Canadians.
5:20 p.m.
NDP
The Vice-Chair NDP Guy Caron
Thank you, Mr. Regan.
That brings us to the end of your appearance, Ms. Touchette, Mr. Timlin and Mr. Steedman. Thank you very much.
Next week, on Tuesday, March 31, we will have a three-hour meeting, from 3:30 p.m to 6:30 p.m., and there will be two panels of witnesses.
We still have one item on the committee's agenda. I am going to suspend the meeting for one minute to allow the witnesses and others in attendance to leave the room, and then we will move in camera.
[Proceedings continue in camera]