Draft Contractor Oversight Guidance

Background

Construction, operations, maintenance, and decommissioning/abandonment activities at CER-regulated workplaces have the potential to place the company’s workforce, contractor’s workforce, the public, equipment, property and the environment at risk. Regulated companies are required by the Onshore Pipeline Regulations (OPR) to proactively identify, evaluate, and control hazards when undertaking activities.

Companies may use contractors to carry out work, but at all times the CER will look to regulated companies to uphold its legal obligations under the OPR.

Project Details

The CER is developing guidance intended to provide clarity on its expectations of regulated companies regarding contractor oversight. This is in response to compliance verification activities (e.g., inspections and audits) that have noted companies have not consistently fulfilled their obligations under the OPR relative to their oversight of contractors and sub-contractors.

The guidance document in development is intended to clarify the CER’s expectations regarding contractor oversight in order to improve the performance of CER-regulated companies and enhance the safety of CER-regulated worksites.

Engagement

The project was discussed during a meeting of the Regulated Industry Engagement Group (RIEG), in November 2023. Regulated companies who registered to participate had an opportunity to receive an update from the project working group, have their questions answered, and provide input on future engagement to develop the guidance. The input provided by participants to the RIEG has informed further engagement plans.

The draft Contractor Oversight Guidance was released for a 90-day comment period, closing in December 2025. Thank you for submitting feedback! A summary of what we heard is now posted on this page, along with written submissions from participants.

Next Steps
The inaugural version of the Contractor Oversight Guidance is now published on the CER website, see What’s New. It may be refreshed from time to time and is anticipated to require future updates in order to align with regulatory changes.

At present, the CER is planning a workshop for the Fall 2026 to discuss the guidance, with CER-regulated pipeline companies, and explore industry best practices and challenges related to contractor oversight.

Please submit your feedback or inquiries via this email:

Contractor.Oversight.Guidance@cer-rec.gc.ca