EDMONTON - The B.C. government arrived at the Northern Gateway pipeline hearings in Edmonton with its environment minister, its former attorney general and a binderful of questions, only to get shut down for being out of bounds.

Elisabeth Graff, the lawyer for the province, was stopped moments into her cross-examination Thursday of pipeline builder Enbridge.

Graff was asking Northern Gateway president John Carruthers about the insurance for oil spill disasters when panel chairman Sheila Leggett intervened.

Leggett reminded Graff the Edmonton hearings are to focus on the economic impacts of the project and that disaster preparedness is being dealt with at upcoming hearings in B.C.

Graff said there had been consultation with Enbridge on the topics to be covered and that any overlap with other hearings would be minimal.

Not good enough, said Leggett.

"We have, as the panel, taken great pains to set these issues up in a way that we believed would be logical and would be in a manner so that we wouldn't have any overlap," said Leggett.

"That's an important piece for us as far as having an efficient and effective process."

The exchange happened late Thursday afternoon. By then, B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake and former attorney general Geoff Plant had left the hearings to catch a flight home.

Graff is expected to resume Friday with questions on the corporate structure of the project.

Earlier Thursday, at a news conference held at the Vancouver Airport, B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced Plant had been hired to oversee the questions the province will ask Carruthers and six Enbridge (TSX:ENB) economists at the hearings in Alberta and the upcoming ones starting next month in B.C.

"He's going to be making sure that we get the answers to the questions that we need," said Clark.

"(He) is one of the finest legal minds in our country. He understands the environment, he understands the government, he understands politics, and our coastline. And the protection of our land base here in British Columbia is deeply important to Geoff."

Enbridge is seeking federal approval to build a $6-billion pipeline to ship oilsands crude from the Edmonton area to Kitimat on the B.C. coast, where it would then be shipped to markets in Asia.

In Edmonton, Lake told reporters he came in person to send a message that if there's a catastrophe, British Columbia residents will not be left holding the bag.

"Our questions will focus around liability insurance coverage, corporate structure and ensuring British Columbians wouldn't be left holding any kind of bill if in fact there was an adverse event," said Lake.

Plant said the corporate structure is of particular interest, given that Calgary-based Enbridge has created a separate entity to deal with the pipeline.

"I'm not worried that they're creating a shell (entity), but I don't want them to create a shell, and the people of British Columbia don't want to face the prospect of someone building a pipeline that isn't in a position where they can be held directly accountable for some harm caused."

Leggett's panel has been holding hearings in B.C. and Alberta throughout the year. Critics, including environmentalists and some First Nations, say that given the line will cross wilderness area and almost a thousand waterways, the risk is too high at any price.

Enbridge estimates that reaching markets in Asia via Northern Gateway would boost Canada's GDP by $312 billion over 25 years — about $9 billion a year — and bring in $98 billion in government revenue.

A study commissioned by British Columbia estimates $81 billion in tax revenue will be accrued by the pipeline over 30 years, with $36 billion going to the federal government, $32 billion to Alberta and just $6 billion to B.C.

The project has sparked numerous demonstrations and heated debate in B.C.

Clark has said B.C. wants a greater share of the profits and wants hard answers on safety and accident preparedness before her government will consider signing off on the project.

She has not said where those profits should come from, but Alberta Premier Alison Redford has said B.C. won't get a share of Alberta's oil royalties.

Redford said such a revenue sharing deal would effectively rewrite the rules of Confederation.

The joint panel must submit its final report to the federal government by the end of 2013.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government is endorsing the need for infrastructure to get oil to the growing Asian market, but has said the Northern Gateway decision will be based on science, not politics.

— With files from James Keller in Vancouver

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  • Northern Gateway President John Carruthers

    (Sept. 4) - Northern Gateway president John Carruthers argues the pipeline is just as important to Canada as the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Canadian Pacific Railway..."when constructed, [they] laid the foundation for significant benefits for generations of Canadians. Our project is no different."

  • Robert Mansell, U of C School of Public Policy

    (Sept. 4) - Robert Mansell, academic director of the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, argued the benefits the pipeline could have for Canada. "Just imagine a situation where, if not for Northern Gateway, you had shut in 525,000 barrels per day for one year. That loss works out to $40-million a day, or $14.4-billion per year," he said.

  • Leanne Chahley, lawyer for the Alta. Federation of Labour

    (Sept. 4) - Leanne Chahley, a lawyer for the Alberta Federation of Labour, questioned the estimated economic gains. "It's still a social science that you're involved in, economics. How much degree of certainty should we give it?"

  • Gil McGowan, Alta. Federation of Labour President

    (Sept. 4 ) - Albert a Federation of Labour argues the $6-billion line would mean 5% less refinery in Alberta and the loss of 8,000 jobs. "China is in the midst of a building boom in terms of refineries and refining capacity, so our fear is that if our policymakers allow this pipeline to be built we'll end up in a situation where our own homegrown refineries are no longer economic and they'll close down," federation president Gil McGowan said. "We'll end up in a situation where we're sending our raw bitumen oil to China and then buying back the refined product."

  • John Carruthers, Northern Gateway President

    (Sept. 4) - Northern Gateway president John Carruthers on the Enbridge's committment to environmental responsibility: "It involves assessing, in the same objective fashion, and according to the same standards, the information or evidence that has been presented by those who are opposed to the development of our project. And it culminates in approving the project under a framework of conditions that will promote reconciliation over division, and fact over rhetoric."

  • John Risdale, B.C. First Nations Chief

    (May 2012) - B.C. First Nations leaders travel to the step of the Alberta Legislature to voice their concerns on the environmental damage. "The pipeline route that they have proposed is following the most major river system that we have and when the river is ruined, the people are ruined, the land is ruined," said Hereditary Chief John Ridsdale of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation.

  • Terry Lake, B.C. Environment Minister

    (Sept. 4) - B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake on how Enbridge plans to exceed world standards in spill prevention. "We certainly want to clarify with Enbridge some of the comments made over $500-million more of safety improvements and what exactly will that mean," Lake says. "In terms of monitoring, in terms of response capability, how can we ensure that any proponent would have to live up to what we consider world class response and mitigation measures."

  • Economist Robert Mansell, U Of C School Of Public Policy

    (Sept. 5) - <strong>On the chance that the proposed Nothern Gateway pipeline would have a negative effect on central Canada's manufacturing sector</strong>: "It is not credible that one could argue this would cause Dutch disease." "Would it do, as has been alleged -- cause the rate of inflation to go up and then force the monetary authorities to tighten the money supply and thereby shrink the economy? The answer is no. "Monetary policy is based on what's called the Core Inflation Rate, which excludes the price of food and energy."

  • Texas-Based Energy Consultant Muse Stancil

    (Sept. 5) - <strong>In a report submitted to the hearing, Texas-based energy consultant Muse Stancil said the Northern Gateway will have an effect on oil pricing in North America:</strong> "It can be expected to have a material effect on the distribution patterns and pricing dynamics for Western Canadian crude, as crude producers for the first time will have a high-volume alternative to their historical markets within North America," said the Muse Stancil report. "Northern Gateway allows the Canadian crude producers to both stop selling to their least attractive refiner clients (from a pricing prospective) and reduces their need to ship heavy crude via comparatively expensive rail transport."

  • Richard Johnston, UBC Political Scientist

    Sept. 5 - <strong>On the chance the federtal Tories could lose ground in B.C. due to unfriendly policies such as support of pipelines to the west coast:</strong> "Among the risks to their base, I would put Northern Gateway highest," Johnston said. "The risk/benefit ratio (for B.C.) is massively unfavourable in itself and if the government were to force the issue pre-emptively, they would add an additional dimension to the debate, singling out one province for ill-treatment, rather like the NEP and Alberta. I expect Conservative MPs are worrying about this aloud."

  • Elisabeth Graff, B.C. government lawyer

    (Sept. 7) - "Are you willing to acknowledge this is a complex organizational structure that limits the liability of a corporate giant that definitely would have sufficient funds?" she asked. "What we're left with is an entity which you tell us has the financial resources necessary to cover any type of spill, but we're still doubting whether that is possible." "No, I just fundamentally can't accept that," replied Mr. Carruthers. "Because of the investment, everyone would want to make sure there's proper funding available in case of a spill," he said.

  • Janet Holder, Enbridge senior executive

    (Sept. 7) - "We're doing everything in our power to mitigate against a spill." "Believe me, Enbridge doesn't want a spill. It's not what we're in the business for. We're in the business of moving very safely, environmentally sound and in a sustainable way, product from one spot to another."

  • Geoff Plant, B.C.'s head lawyer for the hearings

    (Sept. 7) - "The question [is] whether Enbridge is actually capable of getting the kind of insurance to ensure against the risk of liability," on whether the insurance is there should an oil spill happen.

  • Barry Robinson, lawyer for three environmental organizations

    (Sept. 8) - "If free market economies aren't at play, where's the economic benefit?" asked Robinson about the economic effects of the hypothetical possibility of Chinese interests buying control of the Northern Gateway pipeline.

  • Kelowna resident James MacGregor

    (Spet. 6) - The Avaaz petition <a href="http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_Enbridges_Northern_Gateway_pipeline/?whtizcb" target="_hplink">"No Enbridge Tankers/Pipeline in BC Great Bear Rainforest"</a> was started by James MacGregor and has since passed 10,000 signatures. "BC's entire Great Bear Rainforest, its wildlife and the livelihoods of coastal First Nations are all at great risk if Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline is approved," he said. "I know I'm not the only one out there speaking up about the pipeline, but I felt like I couldn't sit back and do nothing." (Source: <a href="http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/earthmatters/petition-opposing-northern-gateway-pipeline-clears-10000-signatures" target="_hplink">Vancouver Observer</a>)

  • Hana Boye, lawyer for Haisla First Nation

    (Sept. 17) - On who could end up with ownership stakes: "If we don't know who these investors are, we're not able to determine if they're financially viable, if they're market-force driven or if it's in the interest of Canadians," she said.

  • Crystal Lake pipeline

  • Chris Peters, Engineer

    (Sept. 17)- Peters argues that an approval of the pipeline might mean a setback to Canada's national climate change policy aims to reduce such emissions to by 2020. That cost "should be recorded as a negative and a cost to the planet," said Peters.

  • Crystal Lake pipeline

  • Crystal Lake pipeline

  • trenton falls pipeline

  • Terry Lake, B.C. Environment Minister

    (Sept. 17) - In the worry that in the event of a spill, Enbridge won't have tge insurance to cover the clean-up costs: "Enbridge and Northern Gateway are very aware of that concern now, so we'll look to their response. But we've made it clear that taxpayers will not be left on the hook," Lake said. "I think that the company would argue they have the resources necessary. What British Columbians want to see is an ironclad guarantee that they do have the resources necessary, that the structure and the insurance in place will protect British Columbians from the cost of any adverse event," he added.