The resounding failure of the efforts of Hydro-Quebec and its American partners to win a referendum demanded by the people of Maine in order to put a stop to the power transmission line project to Massachusetts does not surprise me. On the other hand, the thing is catastrophic for Quebec diplomacy in New England.
Imagine, citizens stood up, they collected 80,000 signatures for a referendum to take place. These same citizens also succeeded in getting in over 85,000 advance polls before polling day. Of course, the opponents had the support of major lobbies, but Hydro-Québec also had this type of major lobby.
As in the case of New Hampshire with the rejection of the Northern Pass project, it was the people who spoke, despite the fact that the Hydro-Quebec consortium with its American partners had all the regulatory and political approvals. , even that famous presidential permit. Never mind, it was ordinary citizens who had the upper hand. And in the case of Maine, the Mainers They also hit the mark in their attempt to bring Hydro-Quebec to its knees, as did the citizens of the Northern Kingdom of New Hampshire.
So if it’s two and two for “We The People” in New England, what’s the root problem?
You will tell me that the sauce has taken hold in New York State and I will prove you are right. But New York is not New England and we are far, very far, from the movements grassroots which exist in this region and which, as history reminds us, are part of the foundations of the United States of America. New York State has more than 22 million inhabitants. The territory of this state is enormous as more than 10 hours of road separate Buffalo in the west of Montauk in the east, at the very end of the Long Island peninsula. New York State is fragmented, its population has always been less easy to mobilize for local issues that often fail to create outcry strong enough to create a wave.
PHOTO BRIAN SNYDER, REUTERS
Opposition to the Clean Energy Corridor with the means at hand, in Moscow, Maine
Diplomacy 101
In my opinion, the approach grassroots lacked on the side of the protagonists wishing the acceptance of the project and this is not the fault of Hydro-Quebec alone. Because even with the support of Governor Janet Mills and the former Franco-American Governor Paul Lepage (who is representing himself in 2022), we have to admit that we may have been a little too Relying on people in high places and forgetting the real world, the one that lives there, somewhere between Jackman and Lewiston, Maine.
Have we really taken the time to work with locals, as we say in English, and above all, did we take the time to make all the necessary visits to all the small village assemblies all over northern Maine? Maybe not.
The great social gatherings of leaders and high places have never got the better of the power of the citizens in the United States, because here the citizen is king, even as small and speechless as he may seem. Quebec diplomacy must understand that to succeed in New England, you have to go for a coffee at Rachel’s in West Forks, Maine, as much as at Littleton Diner, in New Hampshire. You have to talk to the locals, develop links there.
Human contact
My job has taken me to New England for more than 30 years, while I support Quebec SMEs who want to penetrate the American market. The secret of “my sauce” are personal relationships, these privileged and nurtured bonds of 50,000 km per year through the towns and villages of New England. Quebec must redo its homework, because, ultimately, what is lacking in our political representation is the grassroots, human contact, not just with elected politicians and big business people, but with the real world. I know it because people tell me every time I go there, no one sees Quebec political diplomacy in small villages outside the major political and economic capitals of Portland, Concord, Manchester, Burlington, Providence, Hartford. or Boston.
Pass the message on to locals is fundamental. It is also true that selling Hydro-Québec there is not easy when you understand that the political pressures that want the United States to be constantly self-sufficient in energy produced in the United States to ensure their security are a fundamental element. Natural gas (and propane) is flowing freely in all New England states.
We can see by chatting with the real world that our hydroelectricity has not yet succeeded in establishing itself as green energy in people’s minds.
We have to admit here and in defense of Hydro-Quebec that major disinformation campaigns have been put in place by its opponents. But at the end of the day, it’s our job to get our message across. What’s more, when you realize that more than 70% of homes in New England run on gas for the dryer, heating, hot water and swimming pool, you think you are far from having succeeded in sell them the concept that our energy is worth transporting across the lands of New England. Hydroelectricity is not as obvious a concept for them as it is for us and the fact of paying for this energy often more expensive than natural gas only worsens its image and the opinion that the citizen has of it. To really make a difference, it will be necessary to redo a complete fieldwork and ensure that the message is understood among them.
The message of this failure is clear to me: our diplomatic efforts urgently need to be reviewed. New England and its people should see us as the best friend to have, the one you want to go have a beer with on a Thursday night at Applebee’s. But to succeed, we must absolutely review our diplomacy model and recreate links. grassroots with the people of each of the six states.
When you realize that even the state of New Hampshire has just, no later than August 2021, reduced its budget to allow economic development officers to come to Quebec, it is because my faith: New England, we have a problem !
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