Discussion paper: Designated Officer Regulations under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act

Introduction: The Canadian Energy Regulator Act

In 2019, the Canadian Energy Regulator Act (CER Act) established the Canada Energy Regulator (CER or the Regulator), replacing the former National Energy Board (NEB).

The CER provides regulatory oversight over the full lifecycle of federal energy infrastructure, including pipelines that cross interprovincial and international borders, international and designated interprovincial power lines, pipeline tolls and tariffs, energy exports as well as oil and natural gas exploration and production, and offshore renewable energy projects.

The majority of the CER’s powers, duties, and functions are carried out by an independent Commission composed of seven full-time Commissioners and additional part-time Commissioners, as needed. At least one of the full-time commissioners must be an Indigenous person. The Governor in Council appoints the Commissioners.

The CER Act provides authority for the Governor in Council to make regulations that would specify certain technical or administrative decisions normally made by the Commission, that would be carried out by designated officers of the CER instead. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Regulator would assign work to the designated officers based on the circumstances outlined in the Designated Officers Regulations (the regulations).

Who are designated officers?

The CEO will designate employees of the Regulator as designated officers.

Designated officers are senior employees of the Regulator who possess deep expertise in their respective fields. They typically hold leadership-level positions and bring extensive knowledge of the energy industry, the intended outcomes of CER-administered legislation, and the practical, on-the-ground understanding needed to ensure regulatory values are consistently upheld. Their backgrounds may include engineering, safety, environmental protection, administrative law, Indigenous matters, economics, and other specialized areas relevant to the CER’s mandate.

While designated officers have the authority to make certain regulatory decisions, all such decisions remain subject to review and appeal by the Commission, ensuring strong oversight and accountability.

Why make these regulations?

Designated officers are intended to support the work of the Commission by taking on routine or technical decision-making, thereby reducing the administrative burden on Commissioners, and allowing them to concentrate on matters of greater complexity and public significance.

This approach delivers important benefits for both industry and the public. By enabling qualified designated officers to make timely, well-informed decisions, the regulatory process becomes more efficient, predictable, and responsive. Companies benefit from shorter turnaround times and clearer pathways through the regulatory system, supporting better project planning and reduced costs.

For the public, this model helps ensure that safety, environmental protection, Indigenous rights, and other key values remain at the forefront of decision-making, while still allowing the Commission to dedicate its full attention to high-impact issues. In short, the use of designated officers improves regulatory agility, strengthens accountability, and helps maintain a consistent, high-quality standard of oversight across the lifecycle of energy projects.

The objectives of these regulations are to:

• Enhance efficiency by reducing administrative burden: The regulations would streamline operations by delegating routine, administrative and technical decisions that could be made more quickly by designated officers because there would be more decision-makers available with clear guidance for those types of decisions; reducing administrative workload on the Commissioners and enabling the Commission to focus its resources on more complex applications requiring adjudication.
• Provide greater clarity and transparency: By increasing clarity for industry proponents through the regulations.

These objectives would strengthen regulatory oversight without compromising safety, security or environmental protection while reducing administrative burden.

What engagement has already occurred?

An initial discussion paper was posted online in the fall of 2018 and the National Energy Board and Natural Resources Canada responded to requests for information and meetings. We received submissions from a wide range of respondents, including industry associations, companies, and Indigenous groups/representatives. Read the summary of Phase 1 of this engagement.

What we heard:

• Designated officers must always maintain impartiality and avoid conflicts of interest.
• Matters relating to Indigenous interests should not be considered “technical or administrative” and any process in which Indigenous people request to participate must remain with the Commission.
• Delegating routine, technical tasks to designated officers would lead to efficiency, especially in emergency situations where delays could pose risks to people, infrastructure, or the environment.
• Criteria used to determine which decisions could be delegated should be clear.

This feedback was taken into consideration when drafting the new approach.

What is proposed by the new regulations?

The new regulations propose to delegate powers, duties or functions that are technical or administrative in nature to designated officers. Designated officer decisions will not involve broader public interest considerations.

The DO regulations will specify:

1. Which powers, duties and functions of the Commission are technical or administrative.
2. Circumstances in which only designated officers will do these tasks.
3. Any necessary procedures and practices that apply to the exercise of those powers and the performance of those duties and functions by designated officers.

What would be carried out by designated officers?

A number of different factors and contexts will be considered in specifying which powers, duties, or functions are technical or administrative in nature, making them suitable for designated officers. Powers, duties or functions that are technical or administrative in nature may include, but are not limited to, those that:

1. require specialized knowledge in a particular field (e.g., engineering, environmental science, pipeline operations)
2. involve the application of established standards, precedents, or technical rules
3. may entail the application of technical judgment, based on generally accepted tests or standards without a broad public interest element to the decision-making
4. often concern post-approval, technical verifications
5. relate to management, procedural oversight, or operational support
6. are typically procedural, clerical, or organizational in nature
7. may be based on established precedents or processes, particularly in high-volume, repetitive tasks
8. may pertain to a decision that is routine and high volume, with a lower likelihood of unique issues arising from matter to matter
9. are unlikely to raise broader public policy considerations
10. are less likely to have consequences that extend beyond the immediate technical or administrative scope, for example, those decisions that do not frequently raise concerns by the Indigenous peoples of Canada
11. do not typically require significant balancing of competing interests, and do not likely attract public or governmental scrutiny
12. are routine and do not necessitate public participation
13. are less likely to adversely affect the health, safety, or security of persons, environmental effects, or social and economic conditions in a way that may generate public concern or debate.

Examples of decisions of the Commission under the CER Act that could be considered “technical or administrative in nature” include:

• Issuing authorizations or notifications that are administrative in nature, such as
  • issuing a permit to correct minor errors in a registered plan, profile and book of reference (details of the final location of the pipeline) for an approved pipeline project
  • issuing a certificate of non-payment for an administrative monetary penalty
• Providing approvals or orders during the lifecycle of a project that are based on meeting required technical standards, such as
  • providing leave (permission) to open a pipeline for transmission based on the results of continuous pressure tests (e.g. hydrostatic testing)
  • issuing safety orders against regulated companies when a required technical standard or regulation is not being met

When will designated officers do certain tasks?

The specified administrative or technical powers, duties or functions will be delegated to designated officers so long as

• a public hearing is not required
• there are no requests for participation by any other persons

If the circumstances change before the designated officer comes to a decision on the matter (for example, a request is made by an Indigenous group to participate), the emergence of new environmental or safety concerns, or the identification of novel or complex issues, the file will be elevated to the Commission.

This approach ensures that routine decisions can proceed efficiently while preserving transparency, accountability, and the ability to escalate matters when the public interest requires it. It also ensures that the Commission maintains direct oversight of decisions with broad implications, while designated officers handle the decisions best suited to their technical expertise.

Questions

1. What changes, if any, would you suggest to the description of powers, duties and functions of the Commission that are technical or administrative?
2. What changes, if any, would you suggest to the circumstances in which the powers, duties, and functions are to be exercised or performed only by designated officers?
3. Do you have any other comments on the proposed regulations?

Next steps

Please submit responses on the Let's Talk Natural Resources website or by email at designatedofficer-responsablesdesignes@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca. The deadline for providing comments is January 30, 2026. Comments received by the deadline will be reviewed and considered for use in the development of the designated officer regulations.

Contact information

Veronique Houle, Director
Fuels Sector
Natural Resources Canada 
designatedofficer-responsablesdesignes@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca