Don't want to lose local communities to multinational corporations?
Then you don't want to live in Atlantica.

Report from the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers.
Hosted by Governor Baldacci.
September 15 and 16, Bar Harbor, Maine

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Citizens Rally to Support Local Control, Not Corporate Control

A Report from the Conference of New
England Council of Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers

Members of the Public from both sides of the border gathered on the Village Green in Bar Harbor on September 15 & 16, and marched to the Bar
Harbor Club, where Governors and Premiers were holding an invite-only meeting that helped lay the foundation for Atlantica.

The people spoke out in support of workers’ rights, clean air and water, a safe and healthy environment, and the right of local communities to make the decisions that determine their futures.
They made clear that these rights are threatened by Atlantica.

The rally was organized in direct response to the Conference of New England Council of Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers, an invite-only
meeting, hosted by Maine Governor Baldacci and sponsored by some of the biggest promoters of Atlantica.

At the annual conference, the region's Governors and Premiers meet in order to discuss issues such as electricity, transportation, and the
economy, and to enact policy resolutions that call for specific actions by state and provincial governments.

This private conference allows big business leaders an exclusive opportunity to meet, golf, and dine with the Governors and Premiers. Major
sponsors and delegates of the conference have direct ties to Atlantica and AIMS, the think tank promoting the Atlantica concept.

Conference sponsor Emera, the electricity and fuel company which owns Bangor Hydro and Nova Scotia Power and has major interests in liquefied
natural gas terminals and pipelines, was notable for having nine delegates representing the company and its subsidiaries. That’s more delegates than
were invited from the governments of New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont combined. Emera CEO David McD. Mann, is the former Chair and
current Advisory Council member of AIMS, the think tank promoting Atlantica.

Several companies have tried and failed to build a liquefied natural gas terminal along the Maine coast. In each town where they tried, locals
have organized opposition and passed local ordinances ensuring these LNG terminals wouldn’t harm their fisheries and communities. A number of LNG companies, including Emera, Calais LNG, and Downeast LNG, had invited delegates at the conference. They are working to ensure that opposition to their LNG projects can be stopped through the development of “harmonized
regulations” about fuel and energy projects, so that these decisions would be made on the large regional level, and small communities could no longer vote for local ordinances to stop the projects.

Irving Oil had a strong presence with four invited delegates, as well as a seat on the panel discussion “A Shared Energy Future: A Regional Approach to Energy Policy.” Irving executive John F. Irving is the current Chair of the AIMS Board. Irving and Emera, along with the Maine Pulp and Paper Association, which also had delegates at the Conference, are leading the Atlantica BioEnergy Task Force. This task force is made up of big business leaders working with regional governments and universities, and is promoting biorefineries, pipelines, and making fuel and electricity from
burning wood. In Maine, the burning of toxic construction and demolition waste materials that contain wood also gets classified as biomass and is eligible to receive significant Public subsidies since biomass is classified as “renewable,” “carbon neutral,” and “green.”

As a side note, Irving is currently looking to buy out Blethen Maine Newspapers, the largest daily newspaper chain in the state. The sale is
being held up due to the fact that any company buying the papers would be required to honor the Newspaper Guild union’s 2007 collective bargaining
agreement. Blethen is suing the union over the agreement, so Irving won’t have to deal with a difficult union if it purchases the paper.
Incidentally, no Blethen Papers covered the Atlantica protests outside the Conference.

Another major Conference delegate and sponsor was Cianbro. Cianbro President Peter Vigue is working to secure permits and funding to build a
private East-West toll highway across the region. He also sits on the Board of AIMS.

The East-West highway plan dominated much of the Conference discussions. Two highways – a northern east-west highway across Maine, connecting
Atlantic Canada with Quebec, and a southern east-west highway, crossing Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, are being promoted as part of the “Northeast CanAm Region.” These highways were said to be necessary in order to “Fill in the Hollow Middle of Maine.”

The Northeast CanAm Region seems to be the title used by politicians and business leaders promoting Atlantica who don’t like to use the word
“Atlantica.” It includes practically the exact same region, and promotes the same goals of infrastructure expansion and harmonizing regulations.

A Northeast CanAm Connections study was funded in 2005 by the US Congress to study “transportation deficiencies that affect economic development of
the Northeast Border Corridor.” At the conference, promoters of the CanAm concept pointed out the to the study’s conclusion that one of the reasons
this region is “not meeting the conditions to compete globally” is an “over-reliance on labor.” Notably, there were no labor representatives
from any Union invited to the conference.

Solutions to the region’s economic woes included “truck harmonization,” to allow 2 to 3 trailer train trucks, and expansion of deep water ports to
allow massive “post-Panamax” container ships, able to carry enough cargo to fill over 20 miles of tractor trailer trucks end to end, especially in Halifax, the Strait of Canso, and in Searsport, Maine.

Members of the Public who came out in support of the rally have formed the group Maine Atlantica Watch (www.maineatlanticawatch.org) and plan to
continue to build connections with their neighbors throughout the Atlantica region in order keep an eye on what government and business
interests are planning that could harm their communities. Anyone with questions or interest in exchanging ideas and working together is
encouraged to be in touch.

You can contact Maine Atlantica Watch at info (at) maineatlanticawatch.org or
by calling 207-649-5980.