June 11, 2012

Vigue denies commitment he assured in Canada

If I heard rightly, on May 31 in front of 700 people in the field house of Foxcroft Academy, Peter Vigue, CEO of Cianbro, denied that Maine had a commitment to New Brunswick to build an east-west corridor through Maine.

The St. Croix Courier article "Cianbro president sings praises of potential east-west highway" on April 3 said, "(Vigue) underlined the project as essential to economic growth. He also hinted at it being a commitment to New Brunswick that Maine should fulfill.

"'I believe that we in the state of Maine have a commitment to follow the commitment that was made by your premier and the New Brunswick government the rest of the way,' said Vigue," alluding to the actions of the provincial government in twinning Highway 1 up to the border to provide a clear route for the proposed east-west highway to link up with.

He also was quoted as saying, "We're not just talking about a road, we're talking about a corridor ... for utilities, for transportation, for communication."

In my dictionary, a "corridor" can be read as a "strip of a state's territory that runs through that of another" state.

To my Maine ears, this sounds like one big commitment. So why did Vigue, after telling his Canadian audience that we in Maine had such a commitment to Canada, deny he had talked about that commitment when he spoke to us in Dover-Foxcroft? Or did he just forget that he had given away the store, in a weak moment, to his Canadian listeners?

Jim Loomis

Cambridge

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