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Video Stories - Sandra Fraser - Transcript

Sandra FraserHi, I'm Sandra Fraser and I worked at the National Energy Board from 1979 to 1990. I was Counsel for the Board and during my final years there I had the privilege of serving as the Board's General Counsel. I have been fortunate during my career with the Federal Public Service and with the Department of Justice to have had a number of challenging and interesting positions, but I think that my years with the NEB were particularly memorable from both from a personal and a professional perspective.

From a professional stand-point it was a wonderful job for a lawyer starting out. Fred Lamarr who was the General Counsel basically handed you the file, told you to run with it and you learned on the job with such able mentors as Phil Griffin, and Kenny MacDonald and Anne Biguet. And, of course, the applicants and the interveners were represented by very senior counsel who were experts in administrative law, so you learned from them as well.

From a personal perspective, I had the privilege of working with many fine Board members and Board staff and of course the lawyers in the Law Branch were a wonderful group of people. We became not just colleagues but friends and I keep in touch with many of them to this day. The highlight of the work for me was the public hearings. The first hearing, the first major hearing I did was a Gas East hearing for construction of gas pipeline east of Montreal and I worked on that hearing with a budding young engineer, Gaétan Caron who has gone on of course to become the Chairman of the Board. My last hearing involved an application for exports of gas from the MacKenzie Delta and that was a really interesting file. I had the opportunity to travel from coast to coast to coast and it was a tremendous way to see the country, to meet the people, and to gain a sense of the importance that energy plays in this country.

I left the Board in 1990. I was on a leave of absence in Tokyo when the government decided to move the Board to Calgary and we opted to stay in Ottawa. I was sad not to be going back to the Board, but over the years I have watched the Board with interest and I have followed its decisions and I've seen how it's evolved and adapted. And, I am very proud to have been a part of this institution that has served and continues to serve the Canadian public interest in such a meaningful way. So I want to wish the Board Members and the staff a very happy birthday and best wishes as you head into your next half century. Félicitations à tous.

Thank you very much.

 

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Date Modified:
2011-10-26