http://www.nationalobserver.com/2017/02/22/news/federal-panel-says-canadians-dont-trust-pipeline-regulator-near-calgary-oil
Federal panel says Canadians don't trust pipeline regulator near Calgary
oil companies
By Mike De Souza in News, Energy, Politics | February 22nd 2017
It didn't take long for a federal panel of experts to figure out that
Canada's pipeline regulator has a credibility problem that needs to be
fixed.
The panel, appointed by the Trudeau government in 2016 as part of a
comprehensive review of Canada's environmental laws and federal
oversight of industrial development, has just started touring the
country to get ideas about how to "modernize" the National Energy Board
— an election campaign promise made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's
Liberals as part of efforts to restore public trust in federal oversight
of industry.
In a wide-ranging editorial board meeting with National Observer in
Gatineau, Qué., members of the newly-formed panel said they've already
heard from a number of Canadians who say they don't trust the NEB. A
clear problem is the location of the energy regulator's head office in
Calgary, in close proximity to the headquarters of Canada's largest oil
and gas companies.
“This is something we have identified in terms of what we’ve heard,"
said the panel's co-chair Hélène Lauzon, a lawyer who presides over the
Quebec Business Council on the Environment. "The perception is that
because the head office is in Calgary, this is one of the reasons people
believe it’s too close to the industry. We’ve heard the word ‘captured’
by the industry. So this is something we’re hearing and this is
something which could be improved in terms of having more representation
from all other stakeholders.”
Members of the public who have signed up to participate in the panel's
review have made a series of complaints about how the NEB does business,
how it deals with First Nations, and the shortcomings of its
environmental reviews of new energy industry projects.
Troubling lack of public trust
The Trudeau government has been criticized by its political rivals for
spending public money on consultations on controversial issues and then
ignoring recommendations or abandoning key promises. But the NEB
modernization experts say they are already discussing the feedback from
the public and trust that the government is serious about solving a
critical problem.
"There is no government of any political stripe that has not recently
been troubled by the undermining of public trust on public institutions
in general and on the ability to make decisions around energy and
related environmental interests on energy projects in particular," said
Brenda Kenny, an engineer on the panel who has worked in management at
both the NEB as well as with a pipeline industry lobby group.
"Every government is struggling with how to do energy information
coupled with carbon management. Every government is struggling to look
at ongoing trust over time that makes things less political… I have
every confidence that the recommendations, well considered, will be
something of importance and interest to all parties — not just the
ruling government."
The expert panelists said they were also interested to hear from a
former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister on the topic. Then
prime minister Brian Mulroney's government moved the NEB offices from
Ottawa to Calgary in 1991. Former energy minister Bill McKnight told the
panel members that he supported the move at the time because he thought
it would bring the regulator close to more expertise from the oil and
gas industry.
But after watching it in recent years, McKnight had changed his mind
because of the public perception of credibility problems, said Wendy
Grant-John, a former Musqueam chief who is on the five-member panel.
“So it was pretty interesting to me to hear him say that — after
watching it — probably it wasn't the best thing for the idea of it being
an independent body," she said.
The pledge by the Liberals to modernize the energy regulator also
included a plan to ensure more diversity among its board members from
regions outside of Calgary and as well as representation from indigenous
people.
All of this comes at a time when the NEB has been plagued by
controversies over a series of conflict of interest allegations,
internal survey results showing that employees don't trust management,
and a scandal, uncovered last summer by National Observer, that forced
chief executive Peter Watson, and three other board members to recuse
themselves from a review of a major pipeline project over allegations
that they appeared to be biased.
Open to indigenous knowledge and rights
Grant-John didn't mince words about some of the shortcomings of federal
oversight of industry when it comes to relations with First Nations.
"The idea that really what we want, as indigenous people, is to engage
at the beginning, recognize what we say our traditional territory is,
what those values are within that and incorporate that into the final
decision and continue the relationship after," she said, "Not just come
in and talk for a few minutes and (be) gone, which is how it’s been
previously — tick the box and say that we’ve done that now."
After speaking with Wilton Littlechild, a Cree lawyer and former MP who
helped draft the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, Grant-John said she was pleased to see that there is openness
from her fellow panel members and the government to improve how it
incorporates indigenous knowledge and rights into industrial development.
"So I’m really impressed with the ability of my fellow panel members to
really open up their mind to what the indigenous people are saying and
try to understand where there is a misunderstanding about what our lives
are about with regards to the land, water and air," Grant-John said. "So
that really is encouraging to see that there is, not just from the panel
members, but from the government. As you know, the prime minister says
it’s the most important relationship he has. And I think that that’s
being reflected in the openness that’s being presented now, not just by
the participants, but by the panel members and the staff, the
secretariat, are very open to expanding and finding out more and more,
in order to represent what the indigenous people are saying.”
The expert panel members said that some indigenous participants have
spoken about their belief that they should have the right to veto
projects, but Grant-John said it was also about building deeper
relationships.
"I think there’s a greater understanding on the indigenous side on what
(the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)
means and what (Free, Prior and Informed Consent) means, and that is a
traditional way of looking at how we relate to one another and how we
need to work together for the betterment of the environment, for the
betterment of the world that we live in. And I think that’s what we’re
hearing more than saying ‘no.’ Of course there’s going to be a few for
sure, but I think there’s a real depth of understanding from the
indigenous communities of what that actually represents, and that’s the
whole life cycle."
Concerns about transparency
The panel members said they have also heard calls from people who want
to stop the NEB from doing environmental assessments or reviews on new
projects and turning this responsibility entirely over to the Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency.
Panel member David Besner, a former provincial government senior
official who is now president of the New Brunswick Energy Institute,
also recognized that many Canadians expressed frustrations about the
lack of transparency during NEB reviews, which restricted participants
from being able to press energy companies about their claims and
projections.
“I think that a large item in transparency that we’ve heard fairly
consistency throughout is the lack of ability even for those with
standing in a hearing, to — I hate to use the word cross-examine — to
question the proponent’s data and science," Besner said. "That is
apparently not permitted and that’s an issue that’s raised quite often.”
Natural Resources Canada, which is providing administrative support for
the panel's work, said that the panel's other co-chair, Gary Merasty,
could not attend the meeting with National Observer on Wednesday for
personal reasons.
After wrapping up its consultations in March, the panel has until May 15
to submit its final report. The Trudeau government could then use the
recommendations to draft legislation to modernize the NEB.
