Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and honourable members, for the opportunity to appear before you today and to support your review of part 3 of Bill C-38. The National Energy Board's purpose is to regulate pipelines, energy development, and trade in the Canadian public interest. The bo

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  No.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  The legislation would come into effect when it comes into effect.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  For facilities hearings, that is, on pipelines and power lines, there's a total time limit of 18 months. The National Energy Board would be required to complete its process within 15 months. The last three months would be for the Governor in Council to do their part.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  The minister can extend it by up to three months. Cabinet, upon recommendation of the minister, could extend it further.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  The NEB would conduct a public hearing that integrates environment, economy, and social issues the way it always does. We call that the public interest assessment. It's fact based. It's fully transparent, like a court of record. It's based on an advanced, very clear statement of

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  The act has always provided for criminal sanctions: indictment or summary conviction with substantial fines. The NEB does not do that directly; it would do that through Justice. The bill gives the NEB administrative monetary penalties. This is a new tool. These are designed to

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  Thank you for the question. Our reading of the bill is that it's quite clear that a panel of the National Energy Board struck for a facility hearing would make the call, based on the individual circumstances, as to who is directly affected. That's how we read the bill.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  That's not how we read that bill.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  It wouldn't be me; it would be the panel that had been struck.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  I believe a future panel would be well advised and would take their own decision on that.

Natural Resources committee  Thank you for that question. The process starts with the National Energy Board's online filing manual, which is a very extensive document that sets out in great detail the information requirements that the board expects to see with an application for a new energy facility. It r

Natural Resources committee  Certainly, and I am a biologist, not an engineer, so I'll speak in very general terms about the materials part.

Natural Resources committee  The Canadian standard CSA Z662 is the pipeline standard. It goes into great and specific detail about the requirements for materials, such as steel strength, toughness, etc. You need to recognize that these things will all be specific to the application that's being considered, w

Natural Resources committee  Thank you very much for the question and comments. I would like to start by pointing out that the Plains midstream incident was an Alberta-regulated pipeline—