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Section II Analysis Of Program Activities By Strategic Outcome

Analysis by Program Activity

Strategic Outcome

Safety, security, environmental protection and economic benefits through regulation of pipelines, power lines, trade and energy development within NEB jurisdiction.

Program Activity Name: Energy Regulation and Advice

The NEB’s main business is energy regulation and the provision of energy market information. The companies that are regulated by the Board create wealth for Canadians through the transport of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids and other commodities, and through the export of hydrocarbons and electricity. As a regulatory agency, the Board’s role is to help create a framework that allows these economic activities to occur when they are in the public interest.

The Energy Regulation and Advice activity is achieved through the following five goals:

Goal 1. NEB-regulated facilities and activities are safe and secure, and are perceived to be so.

Goal 2. NEB-regulated facilities are built and operated in a manner that protects the environment and respects the rights of those affected.

Goal 3. Canadians benefit from efficient energy infrastructure and markets.

Goal 4. The NEB fufills its mandate with the benefit of effective public engagement.

Goal 5. The NEB delivers quality outcomes through innovative leadership and effective support processes.

The NEB delivers its programs under these Goals, as outlined in the following sections. It has been determined that Goal 1, addressing safety and security, and Goal 2, addressing the environment are linked goals, each with its own focus but with common outcomes. For this reason the intent of each Goal is described first, followed by the objectives of the two goals, which are identical and stated once.

Goal 1 – NEB-regulated facilities are safe and secure, and are perceived to be so.

The NEB’s regulatory oversight encompasses the full lifecycle of energy infrastructure projects within its jurisdiction as shown in the following figure, including the design, construction, operation and abandonment of oil and gas pipelines that cross provincial or international borders and power lines that cross international borders. The NEB’s mandate also includes oversight for the security of pipelines and the reliability, safety and security of international power lines.

The NEB is responsible for confirming that regulated energy industry operates in a manner that protects the public and the environment along with the company’s employees and contractors. Regulated companies have the primary responsibility for safety and environmental protection because they are the designers, builders and operators of their facilities, while the NEB is responsible for setting the regulatory framework that enables the achievement of its safety, security and environmental protection goals. Using a risk-based lifecycle approach and its suite of regulatory tools, NEB verifies that companies identify and effectively manage the safety, security, environmental, socio-economic and land risks posed by their facilities throughout their lifecycle.

Figure 4
Regulatory Life Cycle

Compliance is verified through a number of regulatory tools, including conditions on approval, project post-approval or pre-construction meetings, inspections, investigations, and audits of company management systems. The NEB applies its risk-based lifecycle approach to verification of companies’ safety, integrity, emergency, security and environmental management systems. The Board is working toward augmenting its risk-based lifecycle approach to include compliance verification for socio-economic and lands matters, and tolls and tariffs.

Goal Measures

• No fatalities and decreasing number of disabling injuries
• No pipeline failures
• The public perceives that pipelines are safe
• All companies regulated by the NEB have Safety and Integrity Programs in place4
• All planned compliance audits are completed

Goal 2 – NEB-regulated facilities are built and operated in a manner that protects the environment and respects the rights of those affected.

The NEB promotes environmental protection throughout the lifecycle of regulated facilities and activities, starting with environmental and socio-economic assessment of proposed projects at the application stage, inspection and monitoring of approved projects during construction and operation, auditing environmental protection programs, investigating spills and releases, and ensuring that the abandonment of projects is carried out properly to protect the environment.

The NEB operates in a complex regulatory framework for environmental assessments. This includes the challenge of navigating environmental assessments through overlapping jurisdictions, coordinating with other regulatory agencies and conducting environmental assessments and regulatory processes that are increasingly complex and technically demanding. To address this, the NEB continues to work with other regulatory agencies, including the CEA Agency, federal departments, provinces and northern Boards to improve environmental assessment and to coordinate regulatory processes. Over the next planning period, the NEB will follow opportunities to develop strategic partnerships with these agencies to achieve regulatory efficiency and effectiveness outcomes.

To achieve the goal of respecting the rights of those affected, the NEB requires regulated companies to engage those people potentially affected by proposed projects. The NEB also ensures that interested parties can become involved in the NEB hearing process. Following project approval, the NEB actively follows up on issues brought forward by affected land users, and if necessary acts as a facilitator between these users and regulated companies to ensure that issues are resolved.

The construction and operation of facilities within the NEB’s jurisdiction have the potential to adversely impact the environment and the rights of those affected by an NEB regulated project. The NEB will continue to improve its regulations, policies, tools, and procedures that efficiently and effectively ensure that regulated facilities are designed, built and operated so that the environment is protected and the rights and interests of those affected by energy development are respected.

Goal Measures

• Decreasing number of major releases into the environment5
• All environmental conditions achieve their desired end results
• Rights of way are reclaimed within expected time frames
• The rights of those affected by NEB-regulated facilities and activities are respected

Goals 1 and 2 will focus on the following objectives over the planning period.

Objective 1: The NEB employs a risk-based lifecycle approach to the regulation of energy infrastructure.

The NEB has a mandate to regulate the design, construction, operation and abandonment of hydrocarbon pipelines that cross provincial or international borders. In applying regulatory oversight, the NEB strives to take a risk-based lifecycle approach through which: 1) no single lifecycle stage of energy infrastructure is considered in isolation from the others, and 2) the NEB addresses risks using the appropriate regulatory tool at the appropriate stage of the project lifecycle.  

Risk-based lifecycle approach

A risk-based lifecycle approach supports effective and efficient decision-making with respect to where the NEB directs its compliance resources for safety, integrity, emergency, security and environmental management.

The planned outcome is a system which encompasses the full lifecycle of a project, including design, construction and operation. It also incorporates two elements in the risk evaluation process: 1) risk posed by a project (project details, location and public concerns), and 2) risk posed by the operating company, based on its past compliance performance.

The NEB has defined regulatory risk as an outcome of compliance performance, where the regulatory risk is defined as the product of the probability of non-compliance and the potential consequences of non-compliance. The probability element is indicative of the adequacy, implementation and effectiveness of an operating company’s management systems, while consequence is measured through an evaluation of the impact of a safety, security or environmental event to potential receptors.

Risk-based lifecycle approach for physical infrastructure and environment

The NEB’s approach to ensuring the effective management of pipeline safety, security and environmental matters requires that regulated companies implement a comprehensive management system consisting of core programs for such matters as:

• Safety (construction and operation)
• Environmental Protection
• Pipeline Integrity
• Security
• Emergency Preparedness and Response

Through this initiative, compliance performance of a company will be directly linked to the adequacy and implementation of its programs to achieve the desired outcomes as set out within a goal-based regulatory requirement. By implementing a risk-based approach, inspections and audits will be focused on facilities and companies that will benefit the most from regulatory oversight.

Elements required to implement risk-based decision-making include improved data management, risk assessment processes, and the creation of new compliance tools and performance measures. An integral component of this initiative is developing a set of leading indicators for measuring effectiveness with respect to safety, security and protection of the environment. Such measures consider the operating company’s commitment to continual improvement and its ability to develop a management system culture.

Risk-based lifecycle approach for human environment

In 2008-2009, the NEB is expanding the risk-based lifecycle approach to provide clarity on the NEB’s regulatory program for socio-economic and lands interests and impacts, and toll and tariff regulation. The results will include clear expectations and effective compliance verification tools for every stage of the facility lifecycle, regarding respecting the interests of those impacted by energy development, such as socio-economic stakeholders, landowners and financial/economic stakeholders. Ultimately, the NEB will have tools and resources in place that optimise regulatory oversight, efficiency, and effectiveness throughout the lifecycle of regulated facilities.

Security management program

On 24 May 2006, the NEB issued a Proposed Regulatory Change (PRC), PRC 2006-01 requiring companies to have a pipeline security management program. The PRC also attached guidance as to what the NEB expects companies to include within their Pipeline Security Management programs. The PRC was considered to be in effect on 31 July 2006 and forms the basis of the NEB’s security management compliance strategies.

In December 2006 Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Strategic Steering approved the development of a consensus security management standard for the petroleum and natural gas industry. This Standard is designed to address the prevention and management of security risks that could result in a negative impact on people, the environment, property, or economic stability. The NEB is chairing this CSA Technical committee with industry participants. The committee will deliver a draft standard for public review in the summer of 2008 and the published national standard is expected to be officially released in the fall of 2009.

Updating Energy Information Systems

NAD83 Conversion

The NEB regulates onshore and offshore petroleum exploration and production on federal non-accord lands. As part of its holdings, the NEB stores locations and index information of wells and seismic projects in Frontier lands. The locations are described using NAD27 (or North American Datum 1927). In September 2005, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers recommended that by the second quarter of 2008 the Oil and Gas industry start using data describing locations using NAD83 (North American Datum 1983). The data in the NEB’s reference system requires the capability for existing data to be converted to the recommended NAD83 datum permanently and on demand. INAC has advised the NEB that it has already undertaken a planning initiative to convert their data for northern lands. The oil and gas industry started preparatory work as well. Through its 2007 submission to Treasury Board, the NEB has obtained funds to convert data holdings within the required timeframe.

Frontier Information Office Microfiche Conversion

From time to time, the Board facilitates the provision of information in updated formats. Over the next planning period, the Board will be developing a process to convert Frontier Information Office reports, prepared under the COGO Act, from microfiche to a web-based digital format. This is a valuable service provided to industry. This data is used as an evaluation tool for industry to help determine their exploration and production interests in the federal non-accord lands. Without access to existing data on well data and geoscience data, companies could be forced into undertaking expensive exploration programs just to predetermine what is already known. Benefits include considerable returns in savings in exploration costs to industry. The microfiche conversion project should also reduce unnecessary exploration work, thereby reducing the environmental impact of exploration activities. The project is currently being scoped in order to provide an estimate of projects costs.

Outcomes

• NEB-regulated companies understand what is required to meet compliance expectations, and meet them through the implementation of effective management systems
• Regulated industry operates in a manner that protects the employee, contractor, public and the environment
• Standards and guidance document, held and maintained by CSA, for effective security program requirements
• Up to date technology supporting regulatory processes

Objective 2: The NEB’s regulatory program for environmental protection is efficient, effective and clearly communicated.

Environmental oversight for the energy infrastructure lifecycle

The Board’s program for environmental protection applies to the full lifecycle of federally regulated energy infrastructure, from application assessment to abandonment. In the NEB’s regulatory context, environmental protection means that energy infrastructure is designed, built, operated, and abandoned with full consideration of potential environmental effects and applicable regulations. While all environmental impacts cannot be eliminated, the NEB expects industry to use good design practices and effective operational oversight to minimize undesirable environmental consequences of their activities. Effective environmental protection requires early engagement of landowners, Aboriginal communities, and other stakeholders to ensure that their knowledge and expectations about environmental outcomes are incorporated into project design and processes.

Improved coordination of environmental assessment partners

The NEB is committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental assessment (EA) processes for federally regulated energy infrastructure. This often involves coordinated work by more than one responsible authority or federal authority, and may involve provincial or territorial authorities as well. In 2008-2009, the Board will continue to work in partnership with key regulatory and government agencies and stakeholders to improve EA processes. Through the NEB’s EA coordination program, the NEB has worked over the past few years with federal and provincial government departments to produce an environmental assessment process that meets all departments’ EA obligations. Features of the EA coordination program include:

• the NEB providing leadership in facilitating efficient and effective outcomes for EA processes;
• proactively communicating with government departments about the NEB’s mandate and processes;
• working with government departments, including the CEA Agency and the Major Projects Management Office, to coordinate EA processes and requirements;
• early coordination on upcoming applications;
• focusing efforts on improving post-approval environment verification and compliance capability; and
• conducting review sessions with other departments after EA processes are completed.

Proactive communication with stakeholders

The Board’s program for environmental protection spans all the lifecycle phases. Many parties are familiar with just the environmental assessment portion of the Board’s regulatory program for the environment. In 2008-2009, the NEB will work to ensure that its regulatory program for environmental protection is documented and clearly communicated. The focus will be on ensuring stakeholders can see the Board’s performance at all phases of a pipeline’s lifecycle.

Outcomes

• NEB stakeholders are aware that the NEB’s program for environmental protection spans all phases of infrastructure lifecycle
• Project applicants are served by transparent and efficient environmental assessment processes

Objective 3: The NEB has a regulatory program that enables the rights of those affected by energy infrastructure to be respected.

Complementing the Board’s expected regulatory outcome of energy infrastructure being built and operated in a manner that protects the environment, is an expectation that the rights and interests of those affected by energy infrastructure are respected. While application assessment criteria have been developed for socio-economic and lands issues related to development of energy infrastructure, few regulatory mechanisms have been developed to verify that the Board’s expectations have been met throughout the lifecycle of the infrastructure.

Over the past several years, as stakeholders affected by energy infrastructure development have been involved in various stages of energy infrastructure lifecycle processes, they have provided feedback to the Board both on company interaction and NEB processes. Through the next planning period, the NEB will work to address this feedback and to introduce improvements for both regulatory expectations and NEB processes.

Addressing key issues related to land matters

Over the past several years, stakeholders with lands interests have increasingly participated in regulatory proceedings and other interactions with the Board. These stakeholders have identified aspects of the regulatory framework that require clarification or change to respond to the current social context in which energy infrastructure projects are built and operated.

The NEB is taking steps to systematically review and address stakeholder concerns in a number of key areas related to land matters. The focus will be on increasing the effectiveness of the interaction between the Board, companies with current and new projects and stakeholders with land-based interests. The review of company interaction with stakeholders will focus on expectations regarding landowner consultation and interactions between a pipeline company and other impacted parties from the time an infrastructure project is contemplated through the end of its useful life. One of the first steps the NEB is undertaking is to implement a Land Matters Consultation Initiative (LMCI). Areas to be reviewed through LMCI include company landowner consultation programs, processes for acquiring access to rights-of-way and vehicle crossings of rights-of-way.

Clarifying and communicating regulatory expectations and processes

Following a review of these key lands issues, the NEB will work to implement solutions for key land concerns. This includes identifying new and revised regulatory steps or approaches to ensure that the rights and interests of stakeholders are protected during all lifecycle phases of energy infrastructure projects. Certain of these steps or approaches may be directly implemented through best practices and changes to company management systems. Others will require subsequent projects to outline NEB expectations or new regulatory requirements.

It is anticipated that outcomes of this review will result in a regulatory program clarifying expectations for lands issues, including identification of expectations and best practices for consultation and notification processes; input for NEB audit and verification programs with respect to company consultation activities and programs; clarity of rights and responsibilities increased for all parties with respect to acquiring access to right-of-way crossings; and input into approaches for pipeline abandonment.

Regarding NEB processes, the Board has heard from a range of stakeholders that it can be burdensome to participate effectively in NEB processes, such as public hearings for proposed facilities. Major concerns relate to the formality of the oral hearing, a lack of funding for intervenors, the capacity of the public to intervene without legal representation, and consultation when regulatory change is contemplated. To address these concerns, the NEB, in collaboration with interested parties, will review options to improve access to NEB processes including hearings and regulatory changes.

Outcomes

• Landowners and other stakeholders affected by projects are effectively involved in project review process
• Regulatory expectations regarding land matters are clear and communicated

Goal 3 – Canadians benefit from efficient energy infrastructure and markets.

The Board strives to ensure that Canadians benefit from efficient energy infrastructure and markets. The Board contributes to this goal through two main mechanisms: regulatory decisions around the construction and operation of energy infrastructure, and the provision of energy market information.

Pipeline infrastructure is essential to carry energy products from producers to Canadian consumers and export markets. The NEB-regulated pipeline system carried about $100 billion in oil, oil products, natural gas and natural gas liquids in the last year. The pipeline structure provides enormous economic benefits to Canadians by transporting these products in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. The Board regulates the tolls and tariffs of pipelines to ensure that there is a fair and adequate return to encourage investment as required and allow for effective maintenance.

High energy prices are a signal to producers to develop new energy sources, including frontier sources and alternative sources such as oil sands. Producers also require investments in infrastructure to carry new production to energy users. Unnecessary delays in building new infrastructure impose costs on producers as they cannot bring their new production to market. It also imposes costs on consumers because delays in bringing on new supplies perpetuate tight market conditions, leading to higher prices. Thus, it is important that the Board provide timely and predictable regulatory processes. The Board works to meet this commitment to clients through service standards which have been defined for many of the NEB’s regulatory functions and associated services.

The Board monitors energy markets and provides Canadians with a broad suite of information and analysis in areas primarily related to its regulatory mandate: natural gas, oil and electricity. The Board monitors energy exports to ensure that Canadian energy users have access to domestically produced energy on terms and conditions at least as favourable as those available to export buyers, and to ensure that energy markets are functioning properly. The Board also advises the Minister of Natural Resources of key energy market developments, upon request, and may provide recommendations on policy matters related to its regulatory role from time to time.

Goal Measures

• Canadian energy and transportation markets are working well
• The Board’s advice and energy information products are relevant and timely
• The Board’s regulatory processes are measurably efficient and effective

Goal 3 will focus on the following objectives over the planning period.

Objective 1: The NEB has efficient and effective regulatory processes in all areas of its mandate.

Partnerships with key agencies

A number of regulators and jurisdictions are involved in regulating various aspects of Canada’s energy industry. Consequently, agencies need to be proactive in creating partnerships and communicating at all levels to ensure streamlined and effective processes. Working with other regulatory partners, government agencies and stakeholders to coordinate efforts is critical for the NEB to be able to administer efficient and effective regulatory processes in all areas of its mandate, and to optimize regulatory outcomes. Strategic partnerships and communication opportunities that will be followed include:

• supporting the government’s direction to provide a single window for major project approvals, through the Major Projects Management Office. This includes technical and regulatory policy support, administrative coordination and streamlining processes across jurisdictions;
• increasing efforts to build partnerships with those departments that work directly with the NEB, including the CEA Agency, NRCan and INAC;
• coordinating with the government’s integrated northern strategy through all Board initiatives and activities that occur in that region; and
• partnering with the Northwest Territories land and water boards and other northern regulators to provide regulatory and technical leadership, share information and best practices, and streamline regulatory processes;
• partnering with provincial regulatory bodies to streamline regulatory processes and achieve common objectives;
• providing technical advice and regulatory support for updating regulations and related tools for offshore areas, via Memorandum of Understanding with NRCan, INAC, the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, and the provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia; and
• sharing information and developing compatible regulatory approaches with national regulatory bodies from the U.S. and Mexico.

Regulatory organization partnerships

The NEB is a member of the Canadian Association of Members of Public Utility Tribunals (CAMPUT). This is a self-supporting, non-profit organization of federal, provincial and territorial boards and commissions that are responsible for the regulation of the electric, water, gas and pipeline utilities in Canada. Its purposes are 1) to improve public utility regulation in Canada and 2) to improve the education and training of commissioners and staff of public utility tribunals. The NEB actively participates in many CAMPUT initiatives to help ensure this mandate is achieved.

Working with CAMPUT is an avenue for the NEB to proactively engage federal partners, provincial governments and other regulators to enable an effective and efficient regulatory framework. This association provides a basis for the NEB’s involvement in the Council of Energy Minister Regulatory Performance Working Group, a federal-provincial partnership.

NEB also participates on CAMPUT’s Electric Reliability Sub-Committee, which was established to share information among the provincial and federal regulators with respect to the development and implementation of mandatory reliability standards.

Outcomes

• NEB able to leverage partnerships to achieve regulatory efficiency and effectiveness outcomes
• NEB able to lead and participate in efforts to streamline processes in a timely and effective manner

Objective 2: The NEB’s energy information program focuses on emerging market issues and regulatory challenges.

The NEB collects and analyses information about Canadian energy markets through regulatory processes and market monitoring in order to support the Board’s regulatory program and to provide public information to support better decisions by policy makers, industry and the public. In its energy information program, the Board will focus on informing Canadians on energy market developments and issues related to the Board’s regulatory mandate, primarily for gas, oil and electricity market developments.

The Board’s energy information program is comprised of Energy Market Assessments, which provides detailed analyses into aspects of Canada’s energy system, briefing notes, public speeches and presentations by Board Members and senior staff, energy pricing information on the NEB website and semi-annual energy market outlooks.

Outcomes

• Canadians are able to make informed choices about energy market options

Goal 4 – The NEB fulfils its mandate with the benefit of effective public engagement.

The NEB’s focus on effective public engagement processes is the foundation for making decisions in the public interest, and for providing efficient regulatory processes and practices. Processes are designed so that decision makers are presented with the complete range of views required to make fully informed decisions in the Canadian public interest. This enables parties impacted by projects that are before the Board to provide effective input into the Board’s decision-making process.

In recent years, there has been a trend of increased public participation in government decision-making, as more and more Canadians want to be involved in decisions that affect their lives. The Board has responded by adapting its processes to accommodate this increased participation. The Board’s objective is to maintain the implementation of its mandate while providing ease of participation. Where there are gaps in effective engagement for those who are affected by infrastructure projects, either through company interaction with stakeholders, or through NEB processes, the NEB works to clarify regulatory expectations and continually improve engagement processes.

Goal Measure

• Board processes provide for effective participation by parties to Board matters

The Board will focus on the following objectives for Goal 4 over the planning period.

Objective 1: The NEB has a proactive engagement approach to ensure effective participation by parties to Board matters.

The NEB will continue to implement its proactive engagement with NEB stakeholders so that they are able to become effectively involved in NEB processes that affect them. Proactive engagement includes:

• relationship building for stakeholder groups;
• improved information management for engagement processes;
• making interest-based processes available in a timely way;
• accommodation of Aboriginal participation via hearing location, inclusion of cultural practices in related processes, and gathering and respect of protocol information;
• proactive news releases, backgrounders, advisories for media; and
• project based web page on Internet to make project information more accessible to all stakeholders, including national and local environmental non-governmental organizations.

Improvements will continue to be made through processes such as pre-application situation assessments, pre-hearing information sessions, and through initiating contact with First Nations that may be impacted by NEB processes.

At the same time, the NEB is working toward a broader regulatory program that ensures that the rights of those affected by energy infrastructure are respected through an initiative under Goal 2. Regulatory improvements will continue to be incorporated as they become available and on a pilot basis.

Outcomes

• Stakeholders understand the NEB’s mandate and processes and have opportunities to suggest improvements
• Stakeholders are able to be effectively involved in NEB processes that affect them

Objective 2: The NEB effectively communicates its mandate and role in the development of energy infrastructure and trade in Canada.

The Board will continue to communicate proactively with its stakeholders in order to deliver its mandate effectively. This will be accomplished through a communication strategy focusing on making available clear information on the NEB’s role, enabling participation in Board matters as required, and providing key energy information. Elements for delivering on this strategy include:

• information tools for Canadians who wish to obtain accurate, relevant energy market information, such as the Energy Pricing page on the NEB Website;
• communications support in early public engagement initiatives to better inform Canadians as new projects get underway in targeted areas;
• up to date materials that reflect the NEB’s role, processes, and relationship with other regulators and agencies;
• easy to use web-based electronic communication tools for stakeholders participating in NEB processes;
• strategic communication incorporating the NEB’s vision, purpose and values; and
• the NEB Quality Management System, which supports repeatable, transparent processes.

Outcomes

• Canadian public has easy access to appropriate information about the NEB’s mandate, regulatory programs and processes
• Stakeholders engaged through targeted communications, outreach programs and activities, with a focus on evaluation and continual improvement

Goal 5 – The NEB delivers quality outcomes through innovative leadership and effective support processes.

Goal 5 focuses on the leadership and management accountabilities needed to support a high performance organization that delivers on its commitments. This goal is about sound business management and effective decision-making, to ensure that the organization has the people, technology, facilities, records management procedures, and financial resources available to carry out its mandate.

The NEB’s mandate encompasses processing of oil, gas, electricity, commodity, and exploration and development applications within the NEB’s mandate; regulatory oversight for safe, secure, economically and environmentally sound construction and operation of approved projects; and provision of energy market information. Given the unique role that the NEB plays on behalf of the Canadian public, attracting and retaining the qualified staff required to enable the NEB to fufill its mandate presents challenges and opportunities. Through Treasury Board’s approval of an NEB submission in 2007 for an increase in ful-time equivalent resources, the NEB has been able to work toward increasing its complement of technical and support staff required to carry out its mandate in the current economic environment. In addition, the ability to implement flexible and innovative recruiting and hiring approaches has allowed the NEB to place the appropriate staff where needed in a timely way.

An important focus for the NEB over the next planning period will continue to be our efforts in recruiting, developing and retaining the technical and analytical expertise as well as leadership skills that are essential to delivering on expected business results. The NEB is in an environment where it must compete, as a federal public service employer, with the private sector that offers extremely competitive wages and benefits that exceed what the federal public sector offers. The rate of attrition due to the energy sector’s active recruitment and flexible compensation packages, the lack of available expertise in the market place, shifting demographics and the different expectations flowing from the different generations, as well as impending retirements, means that retaining staff at mid and senior levels is increasingly important to our continued success.

To meet these challenges, the NEB requires strong leadership, a sustained commitment to create a highly desirable workplace for all qualified candidates, and an ongoing long term strategy to ensure that the organization has the necessary capacity to fufill its mandate.

The NEB’s strategy for building and maintaining capacity includes recruitment and retention initiatives, succession planning, leadership development, investing in skills development and enhancement, and a strong performance management system. Further improvement initiatives include a fully integrated information management system, updated internal communication tools, and a correspondence management system.

The NEB continues to implement an ISO-standard Quality Management System (QMS) based on the ISO 9000 Standard as part of our commitment to remain a respected leader in energy regulation. A QMS assists the NEB in establishing a culture of continuous improvement and ensure consistency in direction and results.

Goal Measures

• NEB employees indicate that they find NEB working conditions fully satisfactory in the annual Employee Survey
• The NEB delivers its planned results within its annual budget

Goal 5 will focus on the following objectives over the planning period.

Objective 1: The NEB has the necessary capacity to fulfill its mandate

The NEB’s People Strategy outlines its long term needs and approach for recruiting and retaining qualified employees as well as managing them. Through this plan, the NEB continually updates and improves recruitment and retention strategies and succession planning on a number of fronts. The NEB’s goal is to foster the commitment and dedication of individual employees through:

• greater flexibility and use of various staffing mechanisms, based on the NEB’s People Strategy;
• ensuring our human resource management practices, systems and processes support incentives and flexible work arrangements;
• provision of appropriate and timely learning and development programs; and
• well-crafted, comprehensive accountabilities and measurement criteria.

Tools that will help the NEB achieve this goal include standards for human resources services, employee opinion surveys, NEB branding literature for post-secondary recruitment, employment equity outreach, a leadership competency model and development program, and a project management training program.

To implement the increase in full-time equivalent resources approved through the NEB’s 2007 Treasury Board submission, the Board has established a team made up of representatives from each of the professional areas working at the Board. The team’s objectives include leading the hiring process for the additional positions, and to identify and recommend efficiencies or improvements in the staffing process.

Learning and Development Framework

The NEB is developing a Learning and Development Framework which promotes NEB culture and proactively addresses employee attraction, engagement and transition challenges. Through this initiative, programs and activities will be developed that enable the NEB to deliver on its core work by fully optimizing its talent pool, whether for leadership positions or in support of professions within job families. The Leadership and Development Framework facilitates employee engagement and retention by providing the tools necessary for them to understand their roles within the organization, their individual responsibilities with respect to career progression, and how the NEB will support career development.

Key elements of the framework include:

• activities for facilitating the proactive transfer of knowledge, such as through a coaching and mentoring program;
• criteria for leadership evaluation;
• government-specific learning events to ensure that employees and leaders fully understand their legal responsibilities and unique roles as public servants;
• a Learning Policy and related procedures and processes;
• the competencies of employees are developed to meet future requirements; and
• a technical excellence program implemented, in part, through electronic learning systems.

The desired end result is that the NEB has a culture where employees feel that their contributions add value to the organization, that their work is meaningful and recognized, and that there is potential for their medium to long term career prospects at the NEB.

Information Management Renewal

This initiative is a series of inter-related projects which together provide the functionality and discipline to ensure an effective and efficient information environment, which will enable more effective knowledge management in the Board and improve the capacity of the organization in carrying out its business. The proposed set of integrated tools will result in NEB utilizing a Shared System recommended solution for Electronic Document and Records Management in the Canadian Government.

Outcomes

• Skilled individuals are in place to meet the NEB’s current and future business needs
• NEB able to attract employees at various levels of experience due to its investment in learning and development and human resource management programs
• Staff have the tools and training to carry out their information management responsibilities
• Improved overall productivity through improved and increased information sharing

Objective 2: The NEB lives a results-based culture of excellence

The NEB is committed to demonstrating excellence in all aspects of its work. In addition to following the Government of Canada’s management direction for accountable government that is responsive to the needs of Canadians, the NEB invests in people, processes, systems and information needs to improve results. The NEB’s focus is on supporting career management through development plans, mentoring and challenge opportunities. Tools and processes related to performance management will continue to be enhanced. Regular surveys to assess employee satisfaction and NEB values implementation will continue to be conducted, with resulting findings and recommendations addressed in a timely way. The leadership of the NEB has identified a revised rewards and recognition program as a priority. The NEB Rewards and Recognition Policy is being updated, incorporating new means of recognizing our employees and their achievements that support our strategic plan.

Outcomes

• Timely recognition for performance; support for innovation
• Organization able to implement results-based approach; increased value-added in regulatory processes

Objective 3: The NEB has a fully operational quality management system

The NEB’s Quality Management System (QMS) is the framework of processes and accountabilities by which we ensure we meet the needs of our stakeholders, today and in the future. The documentation of key business processes and associated performance measures assists our employees in delivering improved service on a consistent basis to our clients. The NEB will be continuing to implement QMS, focusing on continual process improvement, enhancing the performance measurement framework, updating documentation, and utilizing internal communication processes. A specific process that will be moved forward in the next planning period is a Board-wide correspondence management process to support current and future business processes.

To support its QMS and its commitment to knowledge management, the NEB will enhance internal communication tools. This includes redesigning and improving the internal web system, an indispensable tool for staff. The internal web provides access to QMS documents, human resources policies and forms and a library of templates, documents and procedures that allow employees to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. It is also an integral tool for employee engagement, including links to the Leadership Community, la Communauté Francophone, the social committee, weekly polls and the “Ask the ExTeam” column which provides management with a direct link to employee feedback. Planned improvements include increasing accessibility of QMS processes and tools; providing a Virtual Community Resource Centre; improved end user functionality, usability and content; and a new interface with a Common Look and Feel, in alignment with the Government of Canada guidelines.

Outcomes

• A firmly entrenched culture of quality
• Employee communication is coordinated and easily accessible

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