Guy Coulombe, (June 15, 1936 – June 22, 2011) was a senior public servant in the Canadian province of Quebec. At various times the leader of Hydro-Quebec and the Sûreté du Québec and the general manager of Montreal, Coulombe was described as Quebec's "go-to mandarin on tough issues."Kevin Dougherty, "Centralized bidding process urged; Municipalities Coulombe calls for comprehensive guidelines," Montreal Gazette, 17 April 2010, A6.
Early life Coulombe was born to an upper-middle-class family in Quebec City. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a master's degree in sociology from the Université Laval and later entered a Ph.D. program in economic development at the University of Chicago. He returned to Quebec City without completing his degree to enter the public service in the early years of Quebec's Quiet Revolution.Luc Bernier, "Leadership and Province Building: Guy Coulombe in Quebec," in Patrice Dutil, ed., Searching for leadership: Secretaries to cabinet in Canada, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press), 1978, p. 224.
Public servant Early years Coulombe became a Quebec public servant in 1963 as a member of the Bureau d'aménagement de l'Est de Québec. From 1966 to 1969, he was director of planning at the Office de planification et de développement du Québec. He briefly entered the Canadian federal civil service in 1969 as assistant deputy minister of supply and services, but returned to Quebec in 1970 to become assistant secretary of the province's treasury board. In 1973, he was promoted to secretary.Bernier, "Leadership," p. 224.
In 1975, Coulombe was appointed by Quebec premier Robert Bourassa to become secretary-general of the Executive Council of Quebec (i.e., the provincial cabinet).Wendie Kerr, "Executives shift posts in Quebec," Globe and Mail, 23 December 1981, B7; "Project risky, Hydro-Quebec says," Globe and Mail, 11 June 1985, p. 3. He was retained in this position after Parti Québécois leader René Lévesque succeeded Bourassa as premier in 1976. Two years later, he was named as president and chief executive officer of the Société générale de financement du Québec.Bernier, "Leadership," p. 224; "Societe Generale de Financement du Quebec: Pierre Dupuis," Globe and Mail, 25 September 1979, B11. He oversaw a restructuring of the organization and announced that it had made a $9.5 million profit for 1979, compared with losses of $14.4 million the previous year."GIC problem," Globe and Mail, 3 November 1978, B14; "GIC reports 1979 profit of $9.5 million," Globe and Mail, 13 March 1980, B15. In 1980, he announced that his agency would invest $1.2 billion in Quebec businesses over the next five years."Investment plan," Globe and Mail, 12 December 1980, B7.
Coulumbe was appointed as a representative of Quebec government agencies on the board of Domtar in 1981."Domtor," Globe and Mail, 22 September 1981, B24. In December of the same year, he oversaw the sale of a thirty-five per cent equity interest in Marine Industries Ltd. of Sorel to the French firm Alsthom-Atlantique.Robert Gibbens, "Alsthom completes plans to buy 35% interest in MIL," Globe and Mail, 16 December 1981, B18. Hydro-Quebec René Lévesque appointed Coulombe as president and chief executive officer of Hydro-Quebec in late 1981, with a term beginning on January 15, 1982.Wendie Kerr, "Coulombe to succeed Hydro head," Globe and Mail, 11 December 1981, B2. In September 1982, Coulombe introduced a significant restructuring program for Hydro-Quebec's upper management.Wendie Kerr, "Hydro-Quebec plans major management shuffle," Globe and Mail, 16 September 1982, B13. He released a revised capital spending program shortly thereafter, indicating that the agency would avoid significant new projects over the next five to six years due to a recession and reduced demand.Robert Gibbens, "Hydro-Quebec deferring projects," Globe and Mail, 5 October 1982, B4; Bertrand Marotte, "Bourassa seeks rerun of James Bay magic," Globe and Mail, 6 December 1986, D2. Hydro-Quebec posted a forty-three per cent profit increase for 1982, despite a drop in consumption."Hydro-Quebec has profit rise," Globe and Mail, 13 May 1983, B6. Coulombe introduced another revised plan in 1983 that further downgraded capital spending in light of ongoing difficulties selling surplus energy to neighbouring markets."HYDRO-QUEBEC REVISES 10-YEAR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN DOWNWARD," Dow Jones News Service, 6 December 1983; Robert Gibbens, "Power surplus poses challenge for Hydro-Quebec," Globe and Mail, 7 December 1983, B21.
In mid-1985, Coulombe criticized a plan by Robert Bourassa (then the leader of the opposition in the Quebec legislature) to export twelve thousand megawatts of power to the United States of America."Project risky, Hydro-Quebec says," Globe and Mail, 11 June 1985, p. 3. Although Coulombe also favoured increased sales to the United States, he argued that Bourassa's strategy could lock Quebec into unfavourable rates and was too risky in the long term.Jennifer Robinson, "Hydro-Quebec wants to double sales to U.S.," Montreal Gazette, 23 March 1985, C3; "Bourassa power scheme risky: Hydro-Quebec chief," Montreal Gazette, 11 June 1985, A4. After Bourassa became premier again in late 1985, Coulombe indicated that Hydro-Quebec could be confident of exporting 3,500 to 4,500 megawatts of power by the mid-1990s. He also indicated that it had a plan for exports almost as large as those preferred by Bourassa if "economic growth [in neighbouring markets] exceeds present predictions."Robert McKenzie, "Bourassa's image rides on hydro plan," Toronto Star, 10 April 1986, A16.
Coulombe oversaw a major deal in late 1985 to export up to 2,300 megawatts of Quebec's energy to New England utilities.Matthew L. Wald, "New England Will Buy Electricity from Quebec Under Big Contract," New York Times, 15 October 1985. The following year, he announced that Hydro-Quebec would invest between twenty and twenty-seven billion dollars to construct new dams and transmission lines over the next decade, mostly to export energy to the United States."Hydro-Quebec plans investment, rate increase," Toronto Star, 19 March 1986, C7; "Hydro-Quebec," Globe and Mail, 28 March 1986, B2. In early 1987, he helped conclude a deal for Quebec to export up to one thousand megawatts of power to Maine by 2020. The latter deal was valued at fifteen billion dollars.Bertrand Marotte, "Quebec, Maine utility sign hydro agreement," Globe and Mail, 11 February 1987, B2; Don Macpherson, "Bourassa aims at election success with power deal," Montreal Gazette, 12 February 1987, B3.
Coulombe left Hydro-Quebec in April 1988, at around the same time that Premier Bourassa introduced his plans for the massive Great Whale Hydro Project in northern Quebec to provide energy for New York State."President set to leave Hydro-Quebec," Globe and Mail, 12 December 1987, B2; Benoit Aubin, "Bourassa promises new hydro megaproject," Globe and Mail, 7 January 1988, B1; "Hydro-Quebec gets 2 chiefs," Globe and Mail, 1 April 1988, B4; Bertrand Marotte, "Utility aims to take a plunge to recovery," Globe and Mail, 7 November 1988, B1. Rumours had previously circulated that Coulombe was unhappy working under Bourassa.Kevin Dougherty, "Aide has no comment on reports Coulombe offered job by Mulroney," Montreal Gazette, 13 September 1986, A11; Peter Hadekel, "Coulombe didn't always share government's vision," Montreal Gazette, 16 December 1987, D1. Subsequent career Coulombe was appointed by the government of Canada to the Canadian National Railway board of governors in June 1988."CN Board of Directors Appointment," 6 June 1988, 16:56; "MINISTERS ISSUE STATEMENT REGARDING PULP MILLS" [press release], Canada NewsWire, 6 February 1991, 16:12. He also served a brief term as president and chief operating officer of Consolidated-Bathurst Inc. in the late 1980s, in which capacity he advocated a merger with Domtar."CONSOLIDATED-BATHURST INC. ACCEPTS THE RESIGNATION OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CORPORATION" [press release], Canada NewsWire, 29 September 1988, 13:14. He resigned after Consolidated was sold to Chicago entrepreneur Roger Stone.Barrie McKenna, "Stone smooth as a pebble in Quebec," Globe and Mail, 10 September 1990, B4.
Coulombe was appointed as president of the Quebec-Canada Television Consortium (CTQC) in April 1991, and in July 1992 he was appointed to a three-year term on the board of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited."MARCEL MASSE, LAWRENCE CANNON AND GUY RIVARD PLEASED TO SEE INCORPORATION OF QUEBEC-CANADA TELEVISION CONSORTIUM" [press release], Canada NewsWire, 8 April 1991, 16:01; "EPP APPOINTS COULOMBE TO AECL BOARD" [press release] Canada NewsWire, 7 July 1992. He was the Quebec government's chief negotiator in land claims negotiations with the Atikamekw and Montagnais First Nations in the same period."Sirros promises self-government talks," Montreal Gazette, 29 October 1992, A6; Rheal Seguin, "Land-claim offer brings first nations resistance," Globe and Mail, 16 December 1994, A6. Sûreté du Québec In November 1996, Coulombe was appointed as interim director of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the provincial police force."Quebec Civilian to head police force," Globe and Mail, 22 November 1996, A4. He was the first civilian to oversee the SQ or its predecessor organizations in the force's 127-year history; the SQ had previously been implicated in a serious corruption scandal, and Coulombe's appointment coincided with the launch of a public inquiry into its activities.Karen Unland, "Probe of Quebec police to stress public hearings," Globe and Mail, 26 November 1996, A9; Sandro Contenta, "Rocky start to inquiry into Quebec police," Toronto Star, 27 February 1997, A12. One journalist wrote that the Quebec government had "effectively placed the Sûreté in trusteeship" through his appointment.Sandro Contenta, "Quebec police hindered probe, former chief says," Toronto Star, 15 April 1997, A10.
Coulombe introduced a series of reforms in August 1997 that he said would make the SQ "become again a great police force." His one hundred page plan included requirements that investigators file daily reports and videotape interrogations, the hiring of in-house lawyers to advise investigators, better screening for promotions and preference for educated candidates, and structural adjustments for rural divisions. Coulombe acknowledged that some officers might be reluctant to accept the changes, saying "It's a matter of culture and attitude really... There's no magic wand. If the investigators feel confident, if they are well supervised, then they'll move ahead."Tu Thanh Ha, "Surete du Quebec put on short leash," Globe and Mail, 20 August 1997, A5; Katherine Wilton, "Surete changes called overdue: But force appears serious in efforts to improve, longtime observers say," Montreal Gazette, 20 August 1997, A5; Sandro Contenta, "Quebec to crack down on police," Toronto Star, 21 August 1997, A15.
Coulombe was confirmed as the SQ's director in May, after eighteen months of holding the position on an interim basis."Civilian named head of police," Globe and Mail, 16 May 1998, A8. He left the position in November of the same year.Uyen Vu, "Civilian takes over SQ: New chief wants force to be with him, not against him," Montreal Gazette, 6 November 1998, A5. Montreal administrator and after Coulombe was appointed as city manager for Montreal in late 1999 and served until early 2003.Linda Gyulai, "City hall getting a tough manager," Montreal Gazette, 16 September 1999, A1; "Harel says Quebec will not change mergers law to ease debt download," Canadian Press, 2 December 2000, 21:00; "Manager Coulombe's megasalary: $175,000," Montreal Gazette, 12 May 2001, A3. Considered close to Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard, Coulombe helped ensure the amalgamation of Montreal with its suburban communities on a strong central governance model.L. Ian MacDonald, "Winners and losers," Montreal Gazette, 7 November 2001, B3.