Quebec's Energy East pipeline hearings get off to rocky start

Quebec's environmental hearings into the Energy EastPipelinegot off to a difficult start Monday evening, asprotesters chanted and disrupted proceedings seconds after the project's vice-president began speaking.

Joseph Zayed, with Quebec's environmental regulation agency, wasforced to temporarily suspend the hearings as protesters snuck intothe audience room, unfurled a banner denouncing the pipeline andsang songs to try and silence the presenter.

The room was brought under control after roughly 15 minutes andLouis Bergeron, Energy East's vice-president for New Brunswick andQuebec, was able to start again.

• Energy East pipeline: What you need to know about the Quebec hearings
• ANALYSIS:Energy East more than just an East-West tiff

TransCanadamakes its case

Earlier, Bergeron had said participating in the hearings was necessary if TransCanada was to reach the "level of social acceptability" the company wanted for itsEnergy East project.

'The Energy East project will bring a major reduction of foreignimports of oil into refineries in Eastern Canada.- LouisBergeron, Energy East's vice-president

In his presentation, Bergeron outinedthe broad strokes of theproject to theagency's three commission members as well as to those gathered inthe audience room in Lvis, across the St. Lawrence River fromQuebec City.

"The Energy East project will bring a major reduction of foreignimports of oil into refineries in Eastern Canada," Bergeron toldaudience members.

Canada's oil sands are currently landlocked and TransCanada saysan export pipeline to the Atlantic Ocean would open internationalmarkets and grow the country's GDP, benefiting all Canadians.

"Pipelines are a way to transport oil that is safe, reliable andefficient," Bergeron said.

After TransCanada's presentation Monday evening, Canada'sNational Energy Board gave a brief presentation about its role inreviewing energy project proposals.

A question-and-answer period was scheduled with members of thepublic after Monday night's presentations.

The hearings are being held by Quebec's environmental review agency, known as the Bureau des audiences publiques sur l'environment (BAPE)and are slated to last nine days.

• What you need to know about the Quebec hearings

Battle of injunctions

Environmental groups upset that TransCanada won't have to offer an impact study as part of the hearings had tried to get them halted by seeking an emergency injunction last month.

But a Quebec Superior Court judge threw out the motion on Friday, allowing the BAPE hearings to go ahead.

The Quebec government has filed a separate injunction that would force TransCanada to submit an impact study and undergo anevaluation.

It is unclear when a judge will hear that motion. Some Western politicians including Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall accused Quebec of trying to sabotage a project that would benefit their economies.

'Generic BAPE'

The hearings are being held under a section of Quebec's Environmental Quality Act that is less demanding on companies considering environmentally sensitive projects. These are known as "generic BAPE" hearings.

A more demanding series of BAPE hearings can be held, under a different section of the law, when a company has formally submitted a notice of application.

Despite requests by the Quebec government, TransCanada has yet to submit such a notice. The injunction filed by Environment Minister David Heurtel last week would force them to do so.

If a judge sides with Quebec, that could require a second, more detailed, series of BAPE hearings to be held.

TransCanada says the documentation it has filed with the BAPE for the generic hearings is "equivalent" to what is required of animpact study.