Commissioners

Mark Watton, Lead Commissioner

Mark Watton has served as the CER’s Lead Commissioner since August 2022. First appointed to the Commission in 2019, Mark has extensive experience in government and public policy development, litigation and regulatory law. He practiced as a litigator in Toronto before relocating to Calgary to join the CER’s predecessor, the National Energy Board, as legal counsel, advising on multiple major project applications. Prior to joining the Commission, he was Senior Legal Counsel with TC Energy. Mark has also worked in executive and policy advisory roles for numerous cabinet ministers in several federal government departments and the Prime Minister's office. He graduated from Dalhousie University Law School (LL.B.) with specializations in Marine Law and Business Law and completed his undergraduate degree in Political Science at the University of Ottawa. Mark is a member of the Law Society of Alberta and holds an ICD.D. designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

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 35 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. 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, holds an Executive Management Certificate from Queen’s University and has the ICD.D designation.

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. 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 served as the CER representative to NARUC (the US-based National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) and participated in multiple NARUC International initiatives focused on capacity and relationship building with energy regulators in Eurasia. 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. She is a lawyer with more than 25 years of experience in a wide range 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 with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, where she prosecuted regulatory offences. Fluent in French and English, Ms. Chartier is a passionate advocate for official languages. She has held various roles promoting official languages within both the federal public service and her community. She is an active member of several boards of directors, including the Fondation des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique and the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice. Ms. Chartier holds a Bachelor of Laws (Civil Law) from Université Laval, a Certificate of Qualification in Common Law from the National Committee on Accreditation, and a Master of Laws from the University of British Columbia, with a focus on the Crown’s duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples. She also recently completed a 40-hour certificate in mediation.

Sandor Sajnovics, Commissioner

Sandor Sajnovics was appointed a Commissioner in May 2023. Mr. Sajnovics has over 20 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, in-house counsel for KGHM International Ltd., in-house counsel for Cenovus Energy Inc., and as a regulatory analyst and auditor at the Government of Alberta, Department of Energy. Sandor is a member of the Law Societies of Alberta and British Columbia, and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta and British Columbia.

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.