A Visit to New York's City Hall

On June 23, Minister Arcand and I met with Stephen Goldsmith, the new Deputy Mayor of Operations of the City of New York. It was a privilege for us to have that meeting at the very heart of City Hall - a magnificent early 19th century building in Lower Manhattan- a few feet away from the Deputy Mayor's desk.

The City of New York is a highly efficient and well-run organization. Deputy Mayor Goldsmith and the entire Administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg are committed to using energy more wisely and reducing the cost of electricity for all New Yorkers. That goes hand in hand with PlaNYC, which aims to cut New York's greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2030. So Deputy Mayor Goldsmith was interested by what Minister Arcand had to say on Québec's renewable energy and hydro power capacity.

As the U.S. looks for ways to achieve independence from fossil fuels, Québec has the expertise to provide a reliable supply of energy to major markets in the Northeast. Deputy Mayor Goldsmith agreed with Minister Arcand that New York City's residents- who currently pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country - would benefit from alternative sources of supply.

We were warmly received at City Hall and look forward to pursuing our collaboration with the City of New York in the future.

At the U.S. Capitol with Minister Pierre Arcand

Last week, I had the opportunity to accompany Pierre Arcand, Québec's Minister of International Relations, for meetings with opinion leaders in Washington, DC and New York. On June 22, we had a whirlwind tour of the capital as we met with U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and my good friend Garry Douglas of the Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce.

We also had fruitful meetings with US Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY), during which we discussed how to increase trade between Québec and the U.S., make more renewable hydro power from Québec available in the Northeast and create interest around a high-speed rail corridor between Montréal and New York.

The Minister also gave a talk on Quebec's U.S. Strategy at the Woodrow Wilson Center, where he also met with Gordon Giffin, fmr U.S. Ambassador to Canada, fmr Rep. Lee Hamilton, now president of the Woodrow Wilson Center, and Gary Doer, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S.

It was a fruitful visit. Our U.S. partners in Washington are eager to work with Québec on concrete issues that have impacts on both sides of the border. And at every opportunity, the Minister drove home our key message: Québec can help the U.S. meet its challenges on a range of topics.

Strong Partnerships in Eight U.S. States

The Québec Government Office in New York covers eight states in the Mid-Atlantic and beyond, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, West Virginia and Kentucky. Over 60 million Americans (20% of the U.S. population) live in this region, which stretches from New York, Philadelphia and Washington to the Appalachian Mountains.

Québec has developed successful partnerships throughout this region. For instance, transportation materials providers NovaBus and Bombardier have manufacturing facilities in Upstate New York, through which they supply major customers such as New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Information technology giant CGI has its U.S. headquarters in Virginia as well as offices throughout the region.

In addition, Québec has developed research partnerships in the region. Québec’s top researchers in the life sciences have won grants from the National Institutes of Health. Hydro-Québec’s research institute also has an ongoing collaboration with the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the State University of New York – Albany.

Québec’s artists have also made major inroads in the region, wowing U.S. audiences with the originality of their work. Robert Lepage has directed The Damnation of Faust at the Metropolitan Opera and will direct the entire Ring cycle, which will be presented at the Met in the spring of 2012 and 2013. In 2009, conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin made an acclaimed debut at the Met and Avery Fisher Hall, and Les Violons du Roy gave one of the most stirring renditions in recent years of Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at Carnegie Hall. In 2010, Montréal – based Cirque du Soleil will be presenting three shows in New York - Ovo, Banana Shpeel and Wintuk.

From music to dance to theatre and visual arts, Québec’s culture is one of its best calling cards in the Northeastern U.S. and around the world.

In a word, whether it’s business, culture, higher education or research, Québec has developed valuable alliances with partners throughout the Mid-Atlantic – and beyond.

Québec’s 70 years in New York : A Reason to Celebrate

The Québec Government Office in New York opened 70 years ago, in the summer of 1940, at Rockefeller Center. That’s quite a milestone, and a testament to Québec’s commitment to the City and State of New York. It’s also quite telling that Québec’s New York Office is its oldest continuously operating post outside of Canada.

Over the past 70 years, the Québec has vastly expanded its operations in the United States. It now has six offices throughout the country (in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, DC). The New York Office covers eight states in the Mid-Atlantic and beyond. It works closely with governments, businesses, universities, think tanks and other institutions in the region. It showcases Québec’s culture and its creative industries, and helps bring their craft to U.S. audiences. It provides information about Québec to the media and the public.

We would not be here today if it were not for the commitment of our partners in New York and beyond. Thank you !Our political and business leaders had the prescience to understand the vital importance for Québec to forge partnerships with the U.S. in trade, investment and finance. Given New York’s status as the economic and financial capital of the United States, the Montreal business community was one of the leading proponents for the opening of an office at Rockefeller Center.

All Aboard High Speed Rail

Posted at Americas Quarterly on June 14, 2010

Shortly after his inauguration, President Barack Obama outlined a plan to develop America’s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service. Using the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Obama Administration made $8 billion available for developing or laying the groundwork for 13 corridors across the U.S. including the Northeast (where one out of five Americans live). Supporters of this initiative soon hailed it as the most significant infrastructure program since the Eisenhower Interstate Program of the 1950’s. 

Building high speed corridors provides numerous public advantages. In addition to providing greater interconnectivity between communities and developing transportation alternatives, the success of high speed rail offers new opportunities for manufacturing, the movement of goods and services and brings environmental benefits. U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood sees this as a legacy project that will make America more competitive, more productive and more united. I agree and the early response from the investment program has been encouraging as the U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced that nearly $80 million in grants have already been delivered to states.U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood sees this as a legacy project that will make America more competitive, more productive and more united. I agree and the early response from the investment program has been encouraging as the U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced that nearly $80 million in grants have already been delivered to states.

The Northeast corridor is of special interest to Québec. In April 2009, the Boston to Montréal corridor was identified as one of the major corridors by the Obama administration. As recently as October 2009, Québec Premier Jean Charest met with New York State Governor David Paterson about the possibility of exploring a second Northeast option: the New York-Albany-Montréal corridor. The latter idea is not new as it was first advocated in the 1970’s by then Montréal mayor, Jean Drapeau. Finally, Secretary LaHood in a February meeting in Washington with Premier Charest agreed to support the creation of task forces to actively study that option. Just a few days ago, the Québec government appointed former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. Raymond Chrétien to co-head the Québec-New York task force.

The potential of a high speed rail link to Montréal is highly promising. With a population of over 3.6 million, the Greater Montréal market is comparable in size to the Greater Boston area, which is on the current high speed Acela line linking Washington, New York and Boston. Just as free trade with Canada has proven beneficial to the State of New York, New England and Québec, greater transportation interconnectivity between those urban centers can only increase the commercial potential. After all, Montréal is a Canadian leader in research and development and offers an economy based on innovation technology, life sciences, IT, energy, transportation equipment and green technology. Montréal also has the highest per capita number of students in North America outside that of Boston, all factors of interest to the Northeast. And need I mention tourism!

Granted, there will always be challenges associated with such an ambitious project. They include competing financial, technological, environmental and economic interests. However, vision and leadership often triumph over obstacles. It will take political will and engagement in the months and years ahead. Europe, Japan and now China have answered the call of high speed rail. America appears to be next. A high speed rail link to Montréal can lead to closer links within the leading trading bloc in the world, the U.S. and Canada. We in North America should heed the call for greater interconnectivity and seriously explore the promise of high speed rail. Québec is all aboard.