Draft Contractor Oversight Guidance

The final Contractor Oversight Technical Guidance is anticipated to be released in Summer 2026.

Thank you for submitting feedback on our draft Contractor Oversight Guidance.

The 90-day comment period closed on Sunday 21 December 2025. A summary of what we heard from this engagement will be posted with the release of the final guidance.


This guidance clarifies existing Onshore Pipeline Regulation (OPR) requirements related to contractor oversight and is intended to help companies achieve compliance and prevent harm. This guidance does not introduce any new requirements.
This draft guidance will be amended following this consultation process and will be updated as needed to align with future regulatory changes.

Under our OPR, companies must have management system processes to identify, evaluate, prevent, manage, and mitigate hazards and risks, reducing the potential for harm. Effective contractor oversight is one of many essential controls that help achieve this goal.

The CER is considering a future workshop with CER-regulated pipeline companies to discuss the final guidance document and explore industry best practices and challenges related to contractor oversight.

This workshop will be held in Fall 2026 to coincide with the release of the technical guidance.

Comments and questions can be emailed to: Contractor.Oversight.Guidance@cer-rec.gc.ca

The final Contractor Oversight Technical Guidance is anticipated to be released in Summer 2026.

Thank you for submitting feedback on our draft Contractor Oversight Guidance.

The 90-day comment period closed on Sunday 21 December 2025. A summary of what we heard from this engagement will be posted with the release of the final guidance.


This guidance clarifies existing Onshore Pipeline Regulation (OPR) requirements related to contractor oversight and is intended to help companies achieve compliance and prevent harm. This guidance does not introduce any new requirements.
This draft guidance will be amended following this consultation process and will be updated as needed to align with future regulatory changes.

Under our OPR, companies must have management system processes to identify, evaluate, prevent, manage, and mitigate hazards and risks, reducing the potential for harm. Effective contractor oversight is one of many essential controls that help achieve this goal.

The CER is considering a future workshop with CER-regulated pipeline companies to discuss the final guidance document and explore industry best practices and challenges related to contractor oversight.

This workshop will be held in Fall 2026 to coincide with the release of the technical guidance.

Comments and questions can be emailed to: Contractor.Oversight.Guidance@cer-rec.gc.ca

Page last updated: 05 Jun 2026, 08:43 AM