2024–25 Annual Report of the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator - Appendix A: Commissioner Biographies

Kathy Penney, Deputy Lead Commissioner

Kathy Penney was a permanent member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission until her appointment as a Commissioner in 2019 and reappointment to the Commission in 2023. She has over 25 years of regulatory, environmental, health and safety (HSE) experience in the public and private sectors. Ms. Penney has expertise in environmental assessments, HSE assurance and compliance processes, quasi-judicial and federal government project hearings, community consultation, and engagement with Indigenous Peoples. Her career includes roles with Jacques Whitford, in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Western Canada, and with Royal Dutch Shell, both in Canada and in Australia. Recently she was on the Assessment Review Board for the Rocky View County. She holds a Master of Science from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto. Ms. Penney is a Pearson College scholar and holds an Executive Management Certificate from Queen’s University.

Wilma Jacknife, Commissioner*

Commissioner Wilma Jacknife served as a temporary member of the National Energy Board until December 2018 before being appointed as a Commissioner in 2019 and re-appointed in 2023. She has more than 20 years of experience in practicing law, both in private practice and as legal counsel for Cold Lake First Nation in Alberta. She specializes in First Nations governance and law-making, consultation and negotiation of impact benefits agreements, business development, administrative law and employment and estates law. Ms. Jacknife also has participated in joint task forces to develop legislative frameworks for First Nations in Canada (Specific Claims Tribunal Act, Indian Oil and Gas Act and regulations). Ms. Jacknife holds a Doctor of Juridical Science in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy and a Master of Laws in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona – College of Law and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of British Columbia and two Bachelor of Art degrees from the University of Alberta.

*Term ended 28 August 2024

Trena Grimoldby, Commissioner

Trena Grimoldby has served as Commissioner since her appointment in 2019. She brings over 20 years of experience in energy regulatory law and litigation to the Commission. As the Canada Energy Regulator's representative to CAMPUT (the Association of Canada's Energy and Utility Regulators), she has been a key member of the Executive Committee since 2019, fostering national regulatory collaboration. Ms. Grimoldby's extensive career spans both public and private sectors, including roles as in-house counsel to multinational energy corporations, a midstream energy company, and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). Her broad regulatory experience encompasses multiple sectors, including energy, insurance—as evidenced by her 2016 appointment as Public Chairperson of the Alberta Insurance Councils Appeal Board—and professional regulation. She has also practiced at both large and mid-sized law firms in Calgary. A member and citizen of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government of Alberta, Ms. Grimoldby holds memberships in numerous professional organizations, including the Law Society of Alberta, Canadian Bar Association, Canadian Council for Administrative Tribunals, Canadian Institute for Administrative Justice, American Energy Bar Association, and the Institute of Corporate Directors. Ms. Grimoldby holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Alberta and is fluently bilingual in both of Canada's official languages.

Stephania Luciuk, Commissioner

Stephania Luciuk was appointed as a Commissioner in 2019. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Luciuk was in legal practice for over 20 years, with extensive experience in the energy sector, serving as in-house counsel at Imperial Oil Limited and Canadian Oil Sands Limited and in private practice with Macleod Dixon and Fasken Martineau DuMoulin. Her legal practice has spanned regulatory, commercial and environmental work on major projects as well as engagement with Indigenous Peoples related to conventional/unconventional oil and gas development and pipelines. In 2017, Ms. Luciuk was appointed as an assistant professor in the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University. She also served part-time as a commissioner of the Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers’ Compensation and as a mediator for the Provincial Court of Alberta. She is currently the CER representative to NARUC (the US-based National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners). Fluent in French and English, Ms. Luciuk holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, a Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University and a Master of Laws in international environmental law, focused on freshwater protection, from Dalhousie University.

Mélanie Chartier, Commissioner

Mélanie Chartier was appointed as a Commissioner in January 2021. Ms. Chartier is a lawyer, with more than 25 years of experience in a variety of areas, including aboriginal, environmental and administrative law, having practiced primarily with the Department of Justice. Ms. Chartier also served as a Member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada from 2016 to 2019 and as Crown Counsel at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada where she prosecuted regulatory offences. She is a passionate advocate for official languages and has occupied various roles promoting official languages within the federal public service as well as in her community. Ms. Chartier holds a Bachelor of Laws (civil) from Laval University, a Certificate of Qualification in common law from the National Committee on Accreditation, and a Master of Laws from the University of British Columbia, focused on the Crown’s duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples.

Sandor Sajnovics, Commissioner

Sandor Sajnovics was appointed a Commissioner in May 2023. Mr. Sajnovics has over 15 years of experience as a lawyer and accountant in both government and industry, including roles involving compliance auditing and environmental, regulatory, and Indigenous law. He is a lawyer and accountant (CPA, CGA) and holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce all from the University of Manitoba. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Sajnovics was legal counsel for the Department of Justice, supporting Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. He also previously served as general counsel for the South Calgary Primary Care Network, commission counsel for the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), legal counsel for KGHM International Ltd., legal counsel for Cenovus Energy Inc., and as a regulatory analyst and auditor at the Government of Alberta, Department of Energy.

Jean-Denis Charlebois, Commissioner

Jean–Denis Charlebois was appointed to the Commission in August 2024. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Charlebois worked most of his 20-year career at the CER in various roles of increasing levels of leadership. He was most recently Chief Economist, leading the technical analysis for financial and economic regulation and the energy information function of the organization. Through the years, Mr. Charlebois has led the work for numerous tolls and tariff applications, public hearings, and regulatory policy matters. He was also Secretary of the Commission, where he led the development of governance processes and administrative functions in support of the Commission. Mr. Charlebois previously worked at the Department of Finance in Ottawa and the Canadian International Development Agency before joining the CER. He is a CFA charter holder and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from HEC Montreal and a Master of Economics from the University of Ottawa.