Maine-Canada Envoy office proposed

AUGUSTA – Increasing trade with Canada and providing help for Maine residents in dealing with Canadian business and commerce are the impetus for a legislative proposal to create a new Office of the Maine-Canada Envoy.

Under the proposal, LD 2008, the new office would be placed within the Executive Department of the state, and the Maine-Canada envoy, named by the governor, would serve for four years, according to supporters Rep. Stephen S. Stanley, D-Medway, and Rep. Roger Sherman, R-Hodgdon.

“I’ve had to deal with a lot of issues involving Canada, as a legislator,” Stanley said Tuesday. “The state does not have a very good grasp on things.

“I think we need someone to do this work full time,” he said. “We need someone who will have their thumb on issues affecting Maine people.”

Gov. Angus King’s office, however, is wary of the bill because of its fiscal impact and because several state agencies already have relationships with their counterparts in the Maritime Provinces.

“The biggest issue is the fiscal impact,” said Tony Sprague, a spokesman in the governor’s public affairs office. “It does appear to create a new office, and the current state of fiscal affairs may make it difficult to look at new programs.

“There are also good relations through annual meetings of premiers and governors,” Sprague said. “Several departments of the state already have strong relationships with their Canadian counterparts.”

The Legislative Committee on State and Local Government will have its hearing on the proposal at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, in the Cross Office Building.

Maine shares 611 miles of border with two Canadian provinces, Quebec and New Brunswick, from the northern tip of Oxford County near Coburn Gore, then going north, east and south to Lubec in Washington County. Along that boundary are 23 customs and immigration border stations.

Except for annual meetings of New England governors and premiers of the Maritime Provinces, there historically has been little contact between Maine and Canadian officials, the bill’s sponsors claim.

Stanley and Sherman pointed out there are numerous business dealings involving Canadians and Canadian companies.

The two legislators recalled in particular the land deals of the last five years,

Maine paper mills being purchased by Canadian companies, Canadian hydropower, and recent dealings involving Canadian companies and the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad.

“There are billions of dollars going back and forth across the border each year,” Sherman said. “We need to understand one another better.

“There are many issues,” he said. “I have a sense, or feeling, that things are not always fair for Maine residents.”

The proposal, which could cost $150,000 to $200,000 a year, according to its supporters, would create an office that would do market research and then provide its findings and trade leads to Maine businesses looking to export their product. It also would assist residents, working as an intermediary, in dealing with everyday problems occurring along the border.

The envoy would advise the governor, Legislature and directors of state agencies on the coordination of state policy and action in dealing with Canadians.

Maine has no one who keeps an eye on issues involving Canada, while Canadians do have someone doing this, Stanley said.

Sherman noted that the plan is an effort to get rid of cross-border glitches and inequities. Washington state has such an office, and this bill is modeled after that office, he said.

Many problems have nothing to do with federal governments, the state representative said, adding that he has a 1-inch thick-folder of constituent problems with Canada.

Although he has not heard of any opposition to his plan, Stanley said he realizes this year might not be the best for such a new proposal. The state budget crunch will be a big issue during the current session.

Stanley said the rural caucus, a group of 73 legislators involved in issues affecting rural Maine of which he is co-chairman, supports the proposal. Stanley also has four co-sponsors for the bill.