http://www.financialpost.com/news/Bouchard+tough+shale+sell/4174799/story.html

Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post · Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011

Former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard once confessed that when he was young, he dreamed of being a charismatic hockey star like Maurice "The Rocket" Richard.

What he became was a charismatic political leader, a conservative separatist that almost led a province to sovereignty. The Quebec Oil and Gas Association is now betting it can tap some of that charm and use him to rescue a nascent industry that has been publicly vilified. Easier said than done.

Since he left office a decade ago, Mr. Bouchard has popped up periodically whenever a conciliator was needed to resolve a prickly situation. In 2008, he was named a "special mediator" in a 14-month fight between Petro-Canada refinery employees and the company. Last year, as chief negotiator for Montreal's transit corporation, he convinced Quebec lawmakers to pass a special law to award a highly controversial $1.2-billion subway equipment contract to Bombardier Inc. and Frenchpartner Alstom.

Got a fire? Mr. Bouchard has the magic touch to put it out. At least, that's the perception.

Trouble is, oil and gas in Quebec, and especially the industry's push to commercialize a vast deposit of shale natural gas known as the Utica play in the years to come, is not your run-of-the-mill hot-spot issue. It's a veritable blaze of public anger -- one that even the popular Mr. Bouchard will be at pains to tame.

On Tuesday, the oil and gas association named Mr. Bouchard chairman of its board of directors. He replaces former Hydro-Quebec chief executive Andre Caille.

Mr. Caille bore the brunt of citizen outrage at public meetings last fall on the shale gas issue. After one particularly heated meeting at which he was repeatedly called a liar and a thief, Mr. Caille took some time off to recuperate, at his doctor's insistence, before returning to work.

To many Quebecers, Mr. Caille is the turtleneck-wearing hero who appeared nightly on television to reassure them through the 1998 ice storm. Now he's the guy who failed to reassure them that drilling for shale gas is environmentally safe and profitable for all.

Whether Mr. Bouchard will have any more success selling the economic potential of shale gas to a skeptical province is questionable. As an ardent nationalist, he certainly has built up a lot of goodwill. In that sense, the popular politician may bring back serenity to a debate that has sometimes turned hysterical.

But as a fiscal conservative, Mr. Bouchard has also thrust his opinions on a variety of subjects into the spotlight from time to time over the past six years. And they haven't exactly been embraced by the populace. He has chided Quebecers for not working hard enough, called on the government to lift the cap on tuition fees, and suggested the province needs more reasonable accommodation of religious freedoms. He sees shale gas as a "highly important" economic development opportunity to help finance Quebec's social programs.

Two of Quebec's leading pollsters, Jean-Marc Leger of Leger Marketing and Alain Giguere of CROP, said on Wednesday they do not believe Mr. Bouchard's nomination will sway public opinion significantly.

"The whole issue has become such a minefield that it's going to be tough to wiggle through," Mr. Giguere said. He said the Liberal government of Jean Charest has already alienated citizens by trying to push for shale gas development too quickly.

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BACK STORY

The total estimated value of extractable natural gas from Quebec's Utica plays is between $45-billion and $210-billion. The leading developers of the resource in Quebec are Alberta-based Talisman Energy Inc. and Questerre Energy Corp.