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The National Energy Board says it is making it easier for whistleblowers to confidentially report issues at pipelines and facilities under the federal regulator's watch.
The board announced new procedures Tuesday aimed at revamping the tracking and handling of confidential tips on non-compliance for regulated companies — eventually allowing tipsters to do so online once the system is up and running.
"Protecting the safety of workers, the public and the environment is the National Energy Board's top priority and we need to know if and when people believe that regulations aren't being followed," Peter Watson, the board's CEO said in a statement.
The changes were prompted after complaints that staff mishandled allegations raised by a whistleblower who lost his job after meeting with them to discuss pipeline safety issues. The NEB spent about $40,000 for a former police investigator to prepare the recommendations.
“We want to avoid having those kind of one off conversations where we have coffee and things like that,” said Chris Loewen, the NEB vice president of operations, during a phone conversation on Oct. 30 last fall with the whistleblower.
The former pipeline industry worker alleged that the NEB advised him to take a severance package and leave his job without a fight. He also alleged that staff sat on the sidelines and failed to adequately investigate serious safety issues when they had the chance. The NEB has declined to directly respond to all of those allegations, but said that it thoroughly investigated the safety issues that were brought to its attention.
The NEB dealt with 23 complaints between 2012 and 2015, with 17 of them coming in the latter two years.
Spokesman Marc Drolet said workers can always turn to superiors, but if they don't feel comfortable or they fear reprisals, they can also turn to the NEB.
"Each complaint is treated very seriously by the board and we investigate each one," Drolet said.
The Liberal government has promised to restore public confidence in the environmental assessment process.
The NEB is reviewing a number of controversial pipeline projects, including Energy East.
Under the TransCanada (TSX:TRP) proposal, 1.1 million barrels of crude oil would be transported from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in New Brunswick.
The federal cabinet reserves the right to accept or reject a project after receiving recommendations from the NEB.
With files from Mike De Souza, National Observer
The Canadian Press
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