Premier Christy Clark's "A-Team" was shut down moments into cross-examination at the Northern Gateway pipeline hearings in Edmonton Thursday, when the B.C. government's line of questioning was declared out of bounds. Environment Minister Terry Lake, former attorney-general Geoff Plant and government lawyer Elisabeth Graff arrived in Edmonton with a binder full of questions Thursday morning intent on representing British Columbia interests.

But Graff, one of two lawyers for the province, was stopped moments into her cross-examination of pipe-line builder Enbridge Thursday afternoon.

The lawyer was asking Northern Gateway president John Carruthers about the insurance for oil spill disasters when National Energy Board joint review 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," she said.

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

The exchange happened late in the afternoon. By then, Lake and Plant, B.C.'s attorney-general from 2001 to 2005, 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, Clark announced Plant had been hired to oversee the questions the province will ask Carruthers and six Enbridge 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, adding she'd hired Plant because she wanted to send her "A-Team" to the hearing.

"(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 the $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."

The province's performance at Thursday's hearing drew criticism from NDP environment critic Rob Fleming, who said Clark's so-called A-Team "completely flopped once they got to Edmonton."

"Their photo-op they had this morning ended in complete disaster," said Flemming late in the day.

He had earlier questioned why it had taken two years for a central legal strategist to be named.

"The real story is this is too little, too late," he said.

"[The Liberal's] strategy is politically designed to avoid a real position. They've displayed a lot of negligence when British Columbians expected a lot better, failing to articulate their concerns," he said.

Wilderness Committee campaigner Ben West also took little solace in Plant's appointment, saying it seemed more like "political theatre" than strategy.

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 pipe-line over 30 years, with $36 billion going to the federal government, $32 billion to Alberta and just $6 billion to B.C.

Clark has demanded a fair share of benefits for B.C., and beefed-up environmental protection, before her government will consider supporting the pipeline. On Thursday, she stressed there is no fair share that could make up for catastrophic damage to B.C's environment.

There has been no contact with Alberta since Premier Alison Redford rebuffed B.C.'s efforts for a bigger share of economic benefits from the project, said Clark.

She said the ball is now in Alberta's court.

"My phone is on the hook, ready to ring. They've got my phone number. It hasn't started ringing."