Quebec Essay, Research Paper

Maine doesn’t see Quebec

sovereignty as a threat

ROCKPORT, Me. – Premier Lucien Bouchard got the message

he wanted Thursday from two American politicians: Quebec’s

future is an internal matter and economic ties would be kept with

their state if it leaves Canada.

“The future of Quebec is essentially a Canadian matter,” Maine

Governor Angus King said at a news conference with Bouchard in

Rockport, a community on the Atlantic Ocean.

“It’s not up to us to sit on the sidelines and suggest what the

solution should be,” King added.

Bouchard was on a one-day tour of Maine to attend a business

development conference to promote trade between the two

struggling economies.

King, whose motto is “Export or die’ said putting people to work

is his priority. “Jobs is really what it’s all about.”

Mark Lawrence, president of the state’s Senate, said Maine would

keep economic ties with an independent Quebec.

“We have a strong history with Quebec and whatever form of

government Quebec chooses, we intend to maintain a strong

relationship with Quebec,” Lawrence said.

Bouchard couldn’t disagree, adding that the first rule of diplomacy

is to stay clear of your neighbor’s political problems.

“No country would like to see other countries get involved in their

internal business,” the premier said.

Bouchard didn’t shy away from the sovereignty issue.

He tried avoiding the matter last time he was in New England,

saying it slipped his mind. He visited Boston last June and said

questions about Quebec voting to leave Canada hadn’t been

raised.

But Bouchard still preferred to dwell on the economic aspects of

the Maine trip, saying it’s important for the state and the province

to strengthen their economic ties.

Trade between them is worth about $207 million US annually.

They aim to increase tourism and technology and possibly

designate a heritage highway between Quebec and Maine.

Bouchard said he hopes the trip boosts Quebec’s international

image and “doesn’t hurt its reputation.”

King and Lawrence played up Maine’s strong French cultural

heritage. About 30 per cent of the state’s population of more than

one million have French roots. They left Quebec at the turn of the

century to work in New England’s textile mills.

Maine, one of Quebec’s closest U.S. neighbors, is also a popular

tourist destination in the summer for Quebecers.

Bouchard, who likes to visit Maine in the summer with his family,

has struck up a friendship with King based on their passion for

Thomas Jefferson, a father of the U.S. Declaration of

Independence.

King gave Bouchard a portrait of Jefferson. In turn, Bouchard

gave King a book by Jefferson about the problems with debt,

something Bouchard said his “foes in Quebec say I’m obsessed

about.”

King, who didn’t seem surprised to receive the book, said the

exchange of Jefferson-related gifts was a coincidence.

“We didn’t plan this,” he laughed.