Natural Resources committee  No, but I would add that during the implementation of this, we would want to ensure that the procedures are in place to make sure that it is very clear how the process would work, and we would work with the government as necessary to do that.

Natural Resources committee  As I said.... I don't want to deflect, but I can speak to what is in the bill, and the bill says that the minister will make the recommendation to the Governor in Council, and the board will assist in any way possible during that one year of implementation to help clarify any processes that need to be clarified.

Natural Resources committee  Ms. Crockatt, I really appreciate that question, because it speaks to something I'm very passionate about and something I had responsibility for at the board. Prior to taking this role, I was accountable for much of our outreach on application-specific issues. I think it's really important to note, as Madam Touchette mentioned, that this is a technical review.

Natural Resources committee  From a project-specific basis? The people are—

Natural Resources committee  In my most recent experience in doing this, I was out in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, not very long ago, and we met with folks who were interested in hearing about the Line 3 replacement program. The application had just come in. There were a fair number of questions around abandonment, frankly, but there were also a lot of questions around the process itself and how to participate in our processes, and also about participant funding.

Natural Resources committee  I would like to add something to my colleague's comment. You mentioned as well the follow-up on non-compliances and the enforcement activities that we undertake, and I just want to assure the committee that the board does follow up on every non-compliance that we identify, whether that's with a notice of non-compliance, an inspection office order that's issued, or a board order.

Natural Resources committee  I certainly am not in a position to speak for the deputy minister. I would speak rather about what the deputy minister has said.... I am not aware of those comments.

Natural Resources committee  As Madam Touchette said—and her comments really emphasized and highlighted this point—safety and environmental protection are the board's top priorities. The government has told us that we are to conduct a minimum of 6 audits and 150 inspections per year. The board looks at incident data to determine where there may be trends or issues that need to be addressed and takes any enforcement actions that it deems required to preserve the safety of the public and to protect the environment.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for the question. The board is required, under our act, to hear from anyone who is directly affected by a project. We will always do that.

Natural Resources committee  We provided technical advice to the government as and when requested.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much for the question, Ms. Charlton. As we of course said previously in a question that was raised by Mr. Regan, the board, as an expert regulatory tribunal, isn't in a position to offer opinions on whether anything should be added to the bill or not. What I can speak to is what was specifically requested by the minister.

Natural Resources committee  The number of audits or inspections has not been mandated to increase as a result of Bill C-46.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much, Madam Touchette and Mr. Regan. Specifically on your question around the number of inspections and audits, the board is required to conduct 150 inspections per year and 6 audits. We surpassed that. As I mentioned earlier, in 2014 we conducted over 350 compliance activities, of which audits and inspections were included.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much, Ms. Crockatt. Certainly at the outset it is critically important that the project is reviewed rigorously, with the best science-based evidence, and that's what our processes are designed to do. When projects are reviewed, we make sure that the people directly affected also have the opportunity to review the projects and ask questions of the proponent.