Alberta Solicitor General Frank Oberle has pulled armed sheriffs from an environmental hearing into an proposed bitumen upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan. (CBC)Alberta has pulled armed sheriffs from an environmental hearing into a proposed multi-billion-dollar bitumen upgrader northeast of Edmonton.

"We've decided to withdraw them. There's no need for them," Solicitor General Frank Oberle said Thursday.

"There's no security situation. We think the meetings are progressing well."

CBC first noticed the armed sheriffs on Tuesday, the first day of the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) hearing into the project, which is proposed by French energy giant, Total S.A.

A coalition of environmentalists, farmers and landowners have opposed the project. Some of them expressed shock that the province would send armed sheriffs to the hearing.

"Sorry if they felt they were intimidated," he said. "There are a number of people at the meeting with different viewpoints that have a right to have their viewpoint heard. By having sheriffs there, it was our intention to keep the peace and allow everybody to have their input."

Oberle says he has now directed his department to review how decisions are made to send sheriffs to hearings.

No need for armed guards, B.C. energy minister says

On Wednesday, the head of security for the Alberta solicitor general said he knew of four environmental hearings since 2008 where sheriffs with sidearms had been present. On Thursday, a department spokeswoman confirmed that sheriffs have actually been at five hearings.

The decision to send sheriffs to the Total hearing was made based on an assessment of a number of factors, including the location of the meeting and information provided by police, Oberle said.

Alberta sheriffs are seen Tuesday at the ERCB hearing in Fort Saskatchewan for a proposed bitumen upgrader. (CBC)"Our department decided we should be concerned, and we had sheriffs there to keep the peace," he said.

The hearing is taking place in Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach's riding, but Stelmach dismissed suggestions the presence of armed sheriffs could be intimidating for those who opposed the project.

When asked about armed guards at hearings in his province, British Columbia Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom said it wasn't a measure he could ever see a need for.

"We've got a pretty good group of people in British Columbia called the residents that live here and the businesses," he told CBC News in Victoria. "I think people, the democracy that we live in, allows people to come and express their views."

On Tuesday, it was also revealed that private security guards hired by Total videotaped a peaceful protest outside the Fort Saskatchewan hotel where the ERCB is holding the hearing.

A spokeswoman said Total did not ask the guards to tape the protesters and asked them to stop as soon as they learned about it.