Nature Canada

Fixing the National Energy Board

Image of Stephen Hazell

Stephen Hazell
Director of Conservation
and General Counsel

On February 22, Stephen Hazell of Nature Canada participated in a dialogue with industry, indigenous people, and other civil society groups and the federally appointed Expert Panel on modernizing the National Energy Board (NEB).Image of Environmental Laws Button

Here are Nature Canada’s key messages at the dialogue held in Gatineau Quebec:

  • Ecological sustainability should be a key element of the legislated “public interest” test that the NEB uses in deciding whether or not to approve energy projects;
  • NEB should be directed to implement federal policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support Canada’s transition to a sustainable low-carbon future in all of its regulatory work;
  • NEB should not be doing environmental assessments for proposed pipelines. Independent panels are needed to assess the sustainability of pipeline projects—including any marine tanker traffic or terminals associated with those projects.  The NEB has completely lost the confidence of Canadians to assess the environmental effects of pipelines;
  • NEB may still have a role to play to ensure the safety and security of existing (and any future) pipelines. As the Canadian economy decarbonizes, NEB’s focus will likely shift to overseeing the winding down of the national pipeline network, ensuring that aging pipelines still operating remain safe and secure; andImage of Humpback Whale
  • Public participation in NEB hearings must be revitalized. Rights of intervenors to cross-examine proponent witnesses must be restored, and all interested Canadians should be afforded some opportunity to participate.

You can still have your say on the future of the National Energy Board.

The Expert Panel is continuing to hear presentations, conduct dialogue sessions and hold open houses, all open to the public, until the end of March, at these locations:

  • Fort St. John, British Columbia– March 1–2, 2017
  • Edmonton, Alberta– March 7–8, 2017
  • Iqaluit, Nunavut– March 14–15, 2017
  • Saint John, New Brunswick– March, 21–22, 2017
  • Montreal, Quebec– March 28–29, 2017

Registration is required for each session and can be done on the panel’s website.

The Expert Panel is to report to the federal Natural Resources Minister by May 15. Have your say in reforming the National Energy Board!

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