When we set out three years ago, I knew that these foreign corporations had a lot of profit on the line, but I never imagined that Maine’s governor and a handful of other lawmakers would pave the way for Hydro-Quebec, a Crown Corporation owned 100 percent by the government of Quebec, to exploit a loophole in Maine law to protect the will of foreign taxpayers over the will of Mainers. In total, Hydro-Quebec exploited this loophole to spend a whopping $24 million on propaganda and outright lies to sway the outcome of an election initiated by more than 80,000 Maine voters from all corners of the state.

While I am so pleased that Mainers were able to cut through the noise created by excessive spending from beyond our national borders, I am fearful of the precedent that has been set. Hydro-Quebec just established a roadmap for foreign interference on referendums to come. That’s why I am proud to support Sen. Rick Bennett’s referendum to protect Maine elections…