Canada

Regulations imposing fees, etc.

Section 142 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act authorizes the regulator to impose fees, levies, and charges on pipeline operators to recover government costs from commodity release incidents. Primary liability falls on the responsible operator; if recovery is insufficient, fees extend to other operators transporting the same or similar commodities. Regulations prescribe fee calculation methods and interest rates on unpaid amounts, which become recoverable debts to the Crown.

Confidentiality

Section 60 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act authorizes the Commission and designated officers to issue confidentiality orders protecting information in regulatory proceedings. Confidentiality may be granted to prevent material financial loss or competitive prejudice, to protect confidential financial, commercial, scientific or technical information when the discloser's interest outweighs public interest, or when disclosure poses real and substantial risks to safety, well-being, property or the environment.

Radiation Protection Guidelines for the Safe Handling of Decedents

Decision by Governor in Council

Section 186 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act grants the Governor in Council authority to issue binding orders on pipeline certificate applications following CER recommendations. The Governor may approve certificates with conditions, dismiss applications, or refer recommendations for reconsideration. Orders must include written reasons demonstrating consideration of relevant factors and be issued within 90 days (extendable). Orders are final, must be published in the Canada Gazette within 15 days, and the CER must comply within seven days.

Safety Culture

Decommissioning

Revocation of certificates — contravention

The Canadian Energy Regulator may revoke a certificate if the holder violates any condition, subject to Governor in Council approval. The regulator must provide written notice of the alleged violation and grant the certificate holder an opportunity to be heard before revocation.

Public Information and Disclosure

Indigenous Engagement, Version 1.2

Rules

The Canadian Energy Regulator Tribunal may establish procedural rules governing compensation claims and reconsideration applications, including filing procedures, required information, hearing conduct, evidence formats, and quorum requirements.

Application of certain provisions

Section 266 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act extends pipeline regulatory provisions to international and interprovincial power lines. Applicants and permit/certificate holders must follow intervention, certification, and permitting procedures under specified sections. Deviations crossing navigable waters require heightened scrutiny under section 211. Abandonment provisions do not apply to power lines.

Burden of proof

Under Canadian Energy Regulator Act section 236, if a company discriminates in tolls, service, or facilities against any person or locality, the burden of proof shifts to the company to demonstrate that such discrimination is not unjust.

Laws of a province

Section 252 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act establishes provincial regulatory authority over intra-provincial electricity transmission lines, granting provinces jurisdiction over location/routing, land acquisition and expropriation procedures, environmental impact assessments, environmental protection during construction and operation, and abandonment protocols.

Powers, duties and functions of provincial regulatory agency

Provincial regulatory agencies designated under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act possess equivalent authority over international power lines within their jurisdiction as they do over interprovincial electricity transmission lines, including discretionary power to refuse approvals even if such refusal prevents line construction or operation.

Orders

The Canadian Energy Regulator Commission may issue orders governing the design, construction, operation, and abandonment of facilities crossing interprovincial and international power lines. Orders authorize facility crossings, regulate ground disturbances, govern vehicle operation, allocate construction costs, and specify activities. The Regulator may also make complementary regulations with Governor in Council approval.

Regulations

The Canadian Energy Regulator may establish regulations designating contraventions of the CER Act, permits, orders, and conditions as enforceable violations subject to administrative penalties up to $25,000 for individuals and $100,000 for other persons. Regulations will specify penalty determination methods and service procedures.

Reporting Requirements for Waste Nuclear Substance Licensees, Class II Nuclear Facilities and Users of Prescribed Equipment, Nuclear Substances and Radiation Devices

Importer

Persons importing oil or gas into Canada must report prescribed information to the Canadian Energy Regulator for each reporting period in the prescribed form and manner, unless exempted by regulation.

Relocation

The Canadian Energy Regulator may order holders of international or interprovincial power line permits or certificates to relocate infrastructure when necessary to facilitate construction or relocation of other facilities. The regulator determines cost allocation between parties, requires mandatory consultation procedures, and may order reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred by persons making submissions.

Application

Section 271 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act establishes CER jurisdiction over international and interprovincial power lines. The CER may issue permits and certificates for power lines crossing borders or within federal authority, including those crossing navigable waters. The CER may also authorize power line relocations to facilitate facility construction or reconstruction.

Designation

The Governor in Council must designate one full-time commissioner as Lead Commissioner and another as Deputy Lead Commissioner of the Canadian Energy Regulator.

Form of compensation payment if land taken

Under Canadian Energy Regulator Act section 329, when a company takes or leases land, the Regulator must direct compensation payment at the landowner's option as either a lump sum or periodic payments. Interest may be awarded at the prime business loan rate from the date of land entry or when damages first occurred.

Powers of liquidators, trustees, etc.

Section 5 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act expands the definition of 'company' for regulatory purposes to include liquidators, receivers, managers, and trustees authorized to operate businesses; persons operating pre-1953 pipelines or exempted pipelines; Quebec court-appointed administrators; and successors handling abandoned pipelines.

Prohibition

Section 237 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act prohibits companies, shippers, and their agents from offering or accepting rebates, concessions, or discriminatory rates for hydrocarbon transmission below published tariffs, and from engaging in false billing, classification, or reporting to circumvent rate requirements. A due diligence defence is available, and prosecution requires prior Commission approval.

Definitions

Section 113 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act establishes legal privilege protection for voice and video recordings of operating personnel at regulated energy facilities. Recordings are privileged and non-disclosable except when requested by the Regulator for accident inquiries, by coroners for investigations, or when courts determine public interest in justice outweighs privilege. Recordings cannot be used in disciplinary proceedings against facility operators or employees.

Certain defences not available

Section 121 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act removes due diligence and honest belief as available defences for persons cited in violation notices. Common law justifications and excuses remain applicable if consistent with the Act.

Order to reconsider

Section 193 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act grants the Governor in Council authority to order the Commission to reconsider its decisions, with discretion to specify factors for consideration and completion timelines. The Commission must report any resulting changes to its recommendations back to the Governor in Council.

Orphan Pipelines Account

The Canadian Energy Regulator Act establishes an Orphan Pipelines Account to manage surplus security funds from abandoned pipelines. Surplus amounts—calculated as ordered security minus actual abandonment costs—may be credited to the account and earn annual interest. The account can fund abandonment costs when company security is insufficient, but companies remain fully liable for all abandonment obligations.

Approval of deviations

Pipeline companies must submit detailed plans, profiles, and reference documentation to the Canadian Energy Regulator for approval of deviations from previously approved or constructed pipelines. The Regulator may exempt submission requirements if deviations serve public purposes or benefit the pipeline, provided deviations do not exceed Commission-specified distance limits from the original centerline.

Members of Tribunal

Section 146 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act specifies the composition and appointment of the Tribunal. The Tribunal must have at least three members appointed by the Governor in Council on ministerial recommendation for terms up to five years. Members must be retired superior court judges or legal professionals with at least 10 years standing at a provincial bar or Quebec notary chamber. The Governor in Council may appoint replacements and sets member compensation.

Recommendation and delay of issuance

The Canadian Energy Regulator may recommend to the Minister that an international power line be designated by Governor in Council order and may delay permit issuance during this process. The Regulator must avoid duplicating provincial measures and must consider interprovincial effects, environmental impacts, and regulatory factors when deciding whether to recommend designation.

Registration of plans, etc.

Land registrars must receive, preserve, and provide public access to plans, profiles, books of reference, and documents required under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act. Registrars must endorse deposits with date/time stamps, provide certified copies at reasonable fees, and certify proper deposit and execution. Certified copies serve as legal evidence of original documents and their submission time.

Construction — utility

Pipeline companies must obtain a Canadian Energy Regulator certificate or conditional leave before constructing pipelines that cross utilities (highways, telecommunications, transmission lines, sewers, drainage systems). The Commission may grant leave with or without conditions, require documentation, and retroactively approve urgent work if advance notice was provided.

Terms and conditions before July 3, 2013

Transitional provision establishing that terms, conditions, and approvals imposed before July 3, 2013 on international or interprovincial power lines under the former National Energy Board Act remain enforceable under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act. Constructors must comply with previously approved orders, regulations, plans, and specifications unless modified by the Canadian Energy Regulator.

Decisions

The Canadian Energy Regulator must distribute copies of its decisions on applications to the applicant company and all parties to the proceeding within seven days of making the decision.

Agreements supersede Commission decisions

Under Canadian Energy Regulator Act section 332, a land acquisition or lease agreement between affected parties supersedes any prior Commission decision regarding lands acquired or leased by a company, provided the agreement meets the definition in subsection 321(1).

Matters to be taken into account

The Canadian Energy Regulator must consider all written submissions and public hearing representations when approving pipeline construction plans, routes, and methods. The Regulator may approve sections where no submissions have been filed.

Criteria

The Canadian Energy Regulator must not issue an export licence for oil or gas unless it determines the export quantity does not exceed Canada's surplus after accounting for reasonably foreseeable domestic requirements and considering Canadian oil and gas discovery trends.

Pipeline not work

Section 220 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act clarifies that pipelines are excluded from the definition of 'work' under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, establishing that pipeline regulation falls exclusively under Canadian Energy Regulator jurisdiction.

Establishment and composition

The Canadian Energy Regulator is governed by a board of 5–9 directors, including a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson, with at least one director required to be an Indigenous person.

Appointment

Section 15 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act establishes procedures for appointing the CER's Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and directors by the Governor in Council on a part-time basis for terms up to five years, with reappointment eligibility. Appointees must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents and cannot simultaneously hold positions as CER employees, commissioners, or Chief Executive Officer.

Proof of financial responsibility

Under Canadian Energy Regulator Act section 304, applicants for CER authorization must provide proof of financial responsibility (letter of credit, guarantee, indemnity bond, or other acceptable form). This proof must remain in force throughout the authorized activity. The Regulator may draw on these funds for eligible claims, with amounts recovered offset against subsequent legal liability awards.

Tariff to be filed

Energy transportation companies must file all tariffs and amendments with the Canadian Energy Regulator to ensure transparent disclosure of pricing and service terms for pipeline and energy transportation services.

Limitation

Canadian Energy Regulator Act section 241 requires pipeline companies to obtain Commission approval before abandoning any pipeline. Companies must notify affected landowners and publish notices in local media. Mandatory public hearings apply if written opposition is filed unless withdrawn or deemed frivolous. The Commission may impose conditions on abandonment approvals, and companies remain liable for abandoned pipelines.

Variation or transfer of permits

The Canadian Energy Regulator Commission may vary or transfer permits issued under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act either on its own motion or upon application. When varying or transferring a permit, the Commission may impose new or modified conditions it deems necessary to advance the Act's purposes and provisions.

Reasons

The Canadian Energy Regulator must provide written reasons for each recommendation made to the Governor in Council or Minister, and must publicly disclose both the recommendations and their supporting rationale.

Period of validity

Under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, permits and licences issued by the regulator have a maximum validity period of 30 years.

Regulations

Section 98 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act empowers the Governor in Council to establish regulations requiring pipeline operators to monitor facilities and implement preparedness and response measures for unintended or uncontrolled releases of oil, gas, or other commodities.

Authorized tolls

Section 229 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act prohibits pipeline companies from charging tolls unless authorized by filed and approved tariffs or Commission orders. When companies own the oil, gas, or commodities transported through their pipelines, they must file sales contracts and amendments with the Regulator upon request, which are treated as tariffs for regulatory purposes.

Compliance

All permits and certificates issued under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act must comply with the Act, its regulations, and applicable federal and provincial orders made under this Act or provincial laws. Non-compliance constitutes a violation of permit and certificate terms.