Justice Berger heard testimony from diverse groups with an interest in the pipeline. Fourteen groups became full participants in the inquiry, attending all meetings and testifying before the commission . Berger traveled extensively in the North in preparation for the hearings. He took his commission to all 35 communities along the Mackenzie River Valley, as well as in other cities across Canada, to gauge public reaction. In his travels he met with aboriginal (i.e. Dene, Inuit, Métis) and non-aboriginal residents. He also held formal hearings in Yellowknife to get the views of experts about the proposal. Following this, he held community hearings across the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, which played an important role in shaping his views. As a result of this extensive process, the commission made two major recommendations: 1) that no pipeline be built through the northern Yukon, and 2) that the construction of a pipeline through the Mackenzie Valley should be delayed for 10 years .

The inquiry was notable for the degree of knowledge sharing by aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in an open- ended process, which ensured that all those who wanted to engage in the process were heard, and that traditional knowledge was incorporated into the decision . The inquiry was also among the first federal environmental processes to consider cumulative environmental, socioeconomic and cultural effects from multiple resource development projects at a regional scale . Its methodology drew international attention and was replicated in neighbouring Alaska in the following decade. The findings of Justice Berger's report had great influence on environmental impact, economic impact, and social impact decision-making processes; in particular, they served to strengthen and extend processes for community-based, public deliberation that led to the development of formal environmental assessment processes across Canada .