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The National Energy Board was an independent economic regulatory agency created in 1959 by the
Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
to oversee "international and inter-provincial aspects of the oil, gas and electric utility industries." Its head office was located in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
. The NEB mainly regulated the construction and operation of oil and natural gas pipelines crossing provincial or international borders. The Board approved pipeline traffic, tolls and tariffs under the authority of the ''National Energy Board Act''. It dealt with approximately 750 applications annually, through written or oral proceedings. The National Energy Board also had jurisdiction over the construction and operation of international
power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and Electric power distribution, distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more electrical conductor, conductors (commonly mu ...
s, defined as lines built "for the purpose of transmitting electricity from or to a place in Canada from or to a place outside of Canada." The NEB authorized imports of natural gas, and exports of crude oil, natural gas, oil,
natural gas liquids Natural-gas condensate, also called natural gas liquids, is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields. Some gas species within the raw natura ...
(NGLs), refined petroleum products and electricity. The NEB also had jurisdiction over designated inter-provincial power lines, by determination of the federal Cabinet, but no such line has been designated, leaving the regulation of existing interties to provincial regulatory bodies. Recent NEB decisions in favour of petroleum-industry interests have led to increasing controversy. On 28 August 2019, the NEB Act was repealed by the coming into force of the
Canada Energy Regulator Act Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the ...
(CER Act).


Pending review

Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
condemned the Harper-era process of regulation, and especially the NEB, citing serious
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...
and mandate flaws. As of December 2016, no changes to the Board had been announced.


Climate accounting

The NEB's lack of coherence on
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
is a major source of uncertainty. Ontario and Quebec had initially imposed approval conditions on Energy East re "upstream" emissions in Alberta, similar to those imposed both upstream and downstream by the EPA and Obama administration on
Keystone XL The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010, formerly owned by TC Energy. It is now owned by South Bow, following TC Energy's spin off of its liquids business into a separate publi ...
. Both dropped these
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
concerns in December 2014 despite the Pembina Institute estimate that "Energy East would cause 32 million tonnes of added greenhouse-gas emissions every year, which would cancel out the emissions reductions Ontario achieved by closing all of its coal-fired power plants".


Provincial vetoes and equalization

Another complicating factor is the position of
Brad Wall Bradley John Wall (born November 24, 1965) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 14th premier of Saskatchewan from November 21, 2007, until February 2, 2018. He is the fourth longest-tenured premier in the province's history. W ...
, Premier of Saskatchewan, that equalization can be withheld from provinces that do not support raw
bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...
export.


Indigenous peoples' rights and veto

A final issue requiring federal clarification is the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples File:2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples voting map.svg , , , The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding United Nations resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007 ...
. Under the UNDRIP, indigenous peoples on unceded lands, including those over which Northern Gateway and Energy East would need to pass, appear to most authorities to have a strict veto and not mere "consultation" rights as under Canada's 1981 constitution. That constitution was not agreed to by the province of Quebec nor aboriginal authority at any level. This especially affects Energy East, as
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
and
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
Maliseet The Wolastoqiyik, (, also known as the Maliseet or Malecite () are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their terri ...
accordingly have strict authority under UNDRIP to unilaterally reject it, as its proposed route crosses their territory (and those of a total of 180 aboriginal / indigenous groups). Opposition to Northern Gateway and Energy East is strong among natives. A veto is supported by some Canadian oil extraction corporations such as
Suncor Suncor Energy Inc. () is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Suncor Energy was ranked as the 48th-largest public compan ...
and Tembec. Indigenous groups have a long history of winning court challenges in Canada. While the NEB does hear aboriginal oral evidence from 70 specific intervenors the NEB process created under
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
falls far short of the demands of aboriginal groups themselves.


Response to spills and leaks

In 2014 John Bennett, national program director for the
Sierra Club Canada The Sierra Club Canada Foundation (SCCF) is a Canadian environmental organization made up of a national branch and five chapters in Ontario, Atlantic Canada, Québec, the Prairies, and a nation-wide Youth chapter. The organization's mission is t ...
(SCC) criticized the NEB for considering changes in its approach to preventing oil spills in future offshore drilling in the
Beaufort Sea The Beaufort Sea ( ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Alaska, and west of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The sea is named after Sir Francis Beaufort, a Hydrography, hydrographer. T ...
. Current policy requires companies working in the Arctic to have the capability to drill a relief well in the same season to release pressure and stop oil flow in case of a blowout such as the one that happened with BP in the Gulf of Mexico. But the NEB has said that other equally effective methods would be considered.


Conflicts of interest

Economist Robyn Allan, questioned the July 28, 2015 appointment by the Governor in Council on behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister, of Steven J. Kelly — a former Kinder Morgan consultant — as a full-time member of the National Energy Board (Board). In a letter dated August 21, 2015 NEB Board of Directors chair David Hamilton and fellow Members, Alison Scott and Philip Davies wrote a In 1996 Kelly joined Purvin & Gertz, Inc. now IHS Inc. and was vice-president of IHS Global Canada, "an oil industry consulting firm hired by Kinder Morgan to do an economic study justifying the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion." NEB postponed oral hearings scheduled for August 24 in Calgary to avoid a conflict of interest with Kelly's appointment which is effective October 13. Alternative dates have not yet been provided. Kinder Morgan has already filed copious amounts of IHS evidence with affidavits that was submitted by Steven Kelly in support of Kinder Morgan's application for the proposed pipeline expansion Trans Mountain. According to the NEB, all Kelly's evidence will be struck from the record.


Lack of oral cross-examination

The NEB process has been sharply criticized and even called a "farce" by former public officials objecting to lack of oral cross-examination.


See also

*
Electricity sector in Canada The electricity sector in Canada has played a significant role in the economic and political life of the country since the late 19th century. The sector is organized along provincial and territorial lines. In a majority of provinces, large gover ...
* Energy policy of Canada * History of the petroleum industry in Canada *
National Energy Program The National Energy Program (, NEP) was an energy policy of the Canadian federal government from 1980 to 1985. The economically nationalist policy sought to secure Canadian energy independence, though was strongly opposed by the private sector an ...


References


External links


National Energy Board
- Official web site {{Authority control Energy in Canada Former Canadian federal departments and agencies Energy regulatory authorities of Canada Oil pipelines in Canada Oil pipelines in Alberta History of the petroleum industry in Canada History of the petroleum industry in Alberta Natural gas pipelines in Canada 1959 establishments in Canada 2019 disestablishments in Canada