An aboriginal leader in British Columbia says First Nations haven't been given enough time to review Enbridge's application to build a pipeline to carry oilsands crude from Alberta to the west coast.

The chief councillor with the Haisla First Nation, Dolores Pollard, told a hearing in Kitimat, B.C., on Tuesday that the time and money the Haisla have been given to go over the 8,000-page regulatory application submitted by Calgary-based Enbridge are not sufficient.

The Northern Gateway crude oil pipeline would run 1,172 kilometres from just outside Edmonton to Kitimat, B.C. (Enbridge)

Pollard described the funding as "grossly inadequate," "insulting" and "demeaning."

The Haisla were given $300,000 by a federal agency to review Enbridge's proposal to build two parallel pipelines stretching 1,170-kilometres from Bruderheim, Alta., just outside Edmonton to Kitimat, known as the Northern Gateway project.

But Pollard told CBC News that only $30,000 of that can be spent on having a legal team review the 8,000 pages of documentation and give advice.

Pollard said Enbridge can spend much more and that the difference means there isn't a level playing field.

As well, only three months have passed between Enbridge's filing and the hearing.

"In my experience in dealing with government, that's pretty quick," she said.

Pipeline would bring 200 tankers a year: Greenpeace

Pollard told the federal and provincial joint review panel the tanker traffic along the coast that would result from the new pipelines and the risk of a potential oil spill would threaten the Haisla's traditional way of life.

The hearing was one of three looking at what issues should be weighed when assessing the pipeline proposal; whether Enbridge should file additional information; and where future hearings should take place.

Enbridge has said the pipeline would create jobs and open new markets on the U.S. west coast or in Asia for Canadian crude oil.

Greenpeace has said it would bring more than 200 oil tankers a year through the treacherous waters beside the Great Bear Rainforest.

The Great Bear Rainforest is the name given by environmental groups to a forest region of 64,000 square kilometres that stretches from Vancouver Island to the Alaska border.

With files from The Canadian Press