Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kenneth Bateman and I have been a member of the National Energy Board since 2006.
I would like to begin by thanking the committee for the opportunity to talk about my qualifications and views as a member of the National Energy Board.
I will be answering your questions in English to ensure my answers are clear and precise. Thank you.
I have been fortunate to enjoy a career that has afforded me a variety of different roles, all of which I feel uniquely contribute to my participation in the independent, quasi-judicial role the board plays in Canadian energy regulation.
I began my career in law upon obtaining my bachelor of laws degree from the University of Alberta in 1984. My practice led me to increasingly specialize in financial and energy-related legal matters. My energy-related expertise included renewable power as well as biowaste remediation, and later the field of electricity.
I eventually served as senior counsel and then vice-president of legal for ENMAX Corporation, a utility. This gave me the opportunity to acquire depth and understanding of the importance of a transparent, fair, and balanced approach to regulated energy.
During the course of my practice, I was fortunate to gain exposure to and expertise in a variety of aspects of law and corporate operations. I find that these support the work I do at the National Energy Board.
Specifically, I developed a deep understanding of corporate governance, funding for large projects, environmental assessments, ethics, tribunal proceedings, energy regulations and deregulation, and of course all of the transactional work associated with these areas.
During the course of my career in the private sector, I took an educational hiatus and completed a master’s degree in international business management at the American Graduate School of International Management. I was also an instructor at the University of Victoria in this period.
My focus has been on cultural fluency in international business, understanding regional contexts and international marketing in our own North American business context.
As you are aware, these experiences culminated in my appointment to the National Energy Board in 2006. I can say that my learning and professional development certainly have not ended. I have tremendously enjoyed learning about the public sector, and especially the Canadian regulatory framework, from this side of the fence.
I have been involved in many hearing days as a board member. I have sat for over 250 days. I am currently serving on the gateway pipeline application. In this context, the pipeline application has not yet been completed, nor have the reasons for decision been released. For that reason, I will not be in a position to answer any specific questions relating to the gateway decision.
What has affected me most in my board member role over these past six years is the responsibility to make decisions in the Canadian public interest. This opportunity and challenge has become the high point of my career. It has drawn upon all aspects of my legal, business, academic, and life experiences. It has required extensive travel across Canada, and has put me face to face with Canadians with diverse backgrounds and perspectives on complex issues that deeply affect their lives and their communities.
This diversity has been amplified by many different spoken languages, cultural traditions, economics, education, and social views. Through this I have gained a deeper capacity to be open-minded, neutral, and fully present through lengthy hearings, some of which span many days and weeks. It has required me to comprehend the positions of all parties and to carefully weigh all sides of an argument in order to come to a sound decision in the Canadian public interest.
In closing, on a personal note, I believe I am, and continue to strive to be, knowledgeable about the law, and particularly the Canadian regulatory process. I hold myself accountable to be fair and open-minded, to be a good listener, to ask questions that get to the heart of an issue, to write decisions that are clear and cogent, all of this leading to making decisions in the Canadian public interest that are informed and will stand up to close scrutiny.
Thank you.