Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1336129
www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 23 We have always recognized the right of employees to ask for accommodations, and our company has always been prepared to address any and all required accommoda- tions, whether it be eldercare, childcare or particular health concerns. Whatever it is, in the context of complying with privacy, we will continue to recognize those rights and the requirements necessary to ensure first and foremost that we supply a safe work environment — both in the office and on the project. And, and even though vaccines are now rolling out, we have to be careful not to get ahead of ourselves. There are priorities being developed and there are many people who are going to be on the on the tail end of the vaccine, not at the beginning, and so we have to manage with that reality in mind. We will continue to, first and foremost, ensure a safe work environment. INHOUSE: What regulatory challenges to you expect to deal with in 2021? VAN WALLEGHEM: Our expansion project has probably been the most scrutinized and reviewed energy project in Canadian history and that's OK because we believe we're setting new standards for delivery of major infrastructure projects in our country, so we embrace the regulatory environment within which we operate. We respect the regulators and welcome their attention to our company and our project and our operations. We'll be watching any new regulatory initiatives and Indigenous law threats and commitments around climate change and making sure that we're supporting all of those things. The owner has given us a mandate to operate in a commercial manner and so we're going to do that like any other company would, but they've also given us some other pretty specific mandates as well. In particular, we are to ensure full compliance with the applicable laws and rules, particularly with environmental protection and worker health and safety requirements, which we set out to do every day, but also to operate in a manner consistent with Canada's commitment to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Those are always first and foremost in our minds as we take on the challenges we see from day to day. INHOUSE: In what ways does the legal department support the organization as a whole? VAN WALLEGHEM: We are a rather small but mighty team. We support all of the operational aspects of the company. Some people may know that the Trans Mountain pipeline has been in existence since 1953, so we have a long