National Energy Board

The National Energy Board was an independent economic regulatory agency created in 1959 by the Government of Canada to oversee "international and inter-provincial aspects of the oil, gas and electric utility industries." Its head office was located in Calgary, Alberta.

The NEB mainly regulated the construction and operation of oil and natural gas pipelines crossing provincial or international borders. The Board approved pipeline traffic, tolls and tariffs under the authority of the National Energy Board Act. It dealt with approximately 750 applications annually, through written or oral proceedings.

The National Energy Board also had jurisdiction over the construction and operation of international power lines, defined as lines built "for the purpose of transmitting electricity from or to a place in Canada from or to a place outside of Canada." The NEB authorized imports of natural gas, and exports of crude oil, natural gas, oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined petroleum products and electricity. The NEB also had jurisdiction over designated inter-provincial power lines, by determination of the federal Cabinet, but no such line has been designated, leaving the regulation of existing interties to provincial regulatory bodies. Recent NEB decisions in favour of petroleum-industry interests have led to increasing controversy.

On 28 August 2019, the NEB Act was repealed by the coming into force of the Canada Energy Regulator Act (CER Act).

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the Harper-era process of regulation, and especially the NEB, citing serious conflict of interest and mandate flaws. As of December 2016, no changes to the Board had been announced.

The NEB's lack of coherence on climate change is a major source of uncertainty. Ontario and Quebec had initially imposed approval conditions on Energy East re "upstream" emissions in Alberta, similar to those imposed both upstream and downstream by the EPA and Obama administration on Keystone XL. Both dropped these climate change concerns in December 2014 despite the Pembina Institute estimate that "Energy East would cause 32 million tonnes of added greenhouse-gas emissions every year, which would cancel out the emissions reductions Ontario achieved by closing all of its coal-fired power plants".

Another complicating factor is the position of Brad Wall, Premier of Saskatchewan, that equalization can be withheld from provinces that do not support raw bitumen export.

A final issue requiring federal clarification is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Under the UNDRIP, indigenous peoples on unceded lands, including those over which Northern Gateway and Energy East would need to pass, appear to most authorities to have a strict veto and not mere "consultation" rights as under Canada's 1981 constitution. That constitution was not agreed to by the province of Quebec nor aboriginal authority at any level.