A few weeks ago, the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee held a public hearing on three bills to curb the influx of foreign campaign spending Maine has been subjected to recently, as the result of a loophole in Maine’s election law exposed by Hydro-Quebec. I participated in the hearings along with dozens of concerned Mainers who would like to see this dangerous loophole closed immediately.
Through 2020, Hydro-Quebec — a Crown Corporation owned 100% by a foreign government — spent a record-breaking $10 million to influence Maine voters, and this year, it has only ramped up the spending. Hydro-Quebec has managed to do this despite the fact that foreign interference is illegal in state and federal elections by flouting a weakness in Maine law, and now it’s urging Maine lawmakers to leave the floodgates open, even though this sort of spending is illegal in Quebec.
In addition to skirting our election laws, Hydro-Quebec in 2020 violated Maine campaign finance laws by filing a late disclosure of $100,000 in spending to influence Maine voters. For this violation, it was assessed a $35,000 fine, which is the second-largest penalty the Maine Ethics Commission ever assessed.
Thankfully, recent polling data shows that Mainers haven’t been fooled by Hydro-Quebec’s (and Central Maine Power’s) expensive and pervasive ads. I ask people to urge lawmakers to pass LDs 194 and 479 to safeguard Maine referendums for Mainers and, if the Legislature fails to act on the petition signed by over 80,000 Mainers to stop the project — sending the question to referendum — we must vote yes this November to reject the CMP corridor.
Sandi Howard, director
Say NO to NECEC, Caratunk
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.