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Alberta’s energy minister says a protest that halted pipeline hearings in Montreal this week was “disrespectful,” but she acknowledges the province perhaps needs to do a better job of selling its message on pipelines in the East.

“Standing up and yelling isn’t constructive in any situation,” Margaret McCuaig-Boyd said Tuesday.

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The National Energy Board cancelled further hearings on Energy East until it rules on motions that demand two panel members resign after they met in early 2015 with former Quebec premier Jean Charest, then a lobbyist for TransCanada, the company behind the project.

The $15.7-billion Energy East would transport crude oil from Hardisty, Alta., to Saint John, N.B.

That decision won’t be made until after the written submission deadline Sept. 7.

“Disruptions like this one compromise the board’s ability to conduct the session in a secure manner and also prevent interveners from having an opportunity to be heard, sharing their views and asking questions,” an NEB statement said of the Monday protests.