A busy agenda for Joe Biden's brief visit to Ottawa
The pomp and ceremony of a presidential visit will give way to a series of discussions on green energy, migration and Haiti on Friday, as US President Joe Biden visits Parliament Hill.
< p class="e-p">Canada is pushing for Mr. Biden to reconsider the Buy American doctrine in which Washington adopts policies aimed at bolstering domestic industry at the expense of foreign companies, including those bound by the Canada Agreement– United States–Mexico which replaced NAFTA.
The two leaders will also discuss green energy and collaboration on projects like electric vehicles, as a massive US spending program pressures the Liberals to they set up expensive business subsidies.
Both sides say they also want to discuss the gang crisis in Haiti. The Biden administration has said Canada should consider Haiti's de facto government's request for a military intervention to root out the gangs, but Mr. Trudeau has argued that past military deployments have not stemmed violence in the country. the country.
After months of lobbying the United Nations for a multinational force, U.S. officials said this week it may not be what Haiti needs .
Roxham Road is a hot file for the Trudeau government. (File photo)
Meanwhile, a senior government official in Ottawa says Canada and the United States have reached an agreement in principle that could see asylum seekers turned away at irregular border crossings, plugging a loophole that sees around 130 people enter Canada daily via Roxham Road, Quebec.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that have not yet been made public .
The deal would mean that migrants who continue to cross there, or at any other unofficial crossing point, would be treated as if they were crossing at an official border checkpoint and would be sent back to the United States to file a refugee claim.
This amendment to the so-called Safe Third Country Agreement would not physically close the unofficial Roxham Road crossing, but would discourage crossing to this place and on the 8900 kilometers of the common border.
Joe Biden will address elected members of the House of Commons. (File Photo)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is due to greet Mr. Biden Friday morning at the West Block.
Dignitaries from the House of Commons and the Senate, including the Speakers of each chamber and the leaders of each elected party and most Senate groups, are expected to join them.
MM. Biden and Trudeau plan to have a bilateral meeting afterwards at the Prime Minister's Office.
This is to be followed by a lengthy conversation between Mr. Biden and key Trudeau cabinet ministers in the room where they usually discuss major political decisions. It is possible that some of Mr. Biden's cabinet secretaries – the equivalent of cabinet ministers in American politics – will join the discussion.
The presidential flight included at least 18 officials and advisers, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Shortly before 2 p.m. (Eastern time), Mr. Biden is due to address the House of Commons, in the presence of many Canadian personalities.
MM. Biden and Trudeau are then to cross the street in front of Parliament Hill and hold a press conference at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building.
Senior US administration officials have also said Biden plans to have what is known as a side conversation with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and exchange a few words with other party leaders. . It's unclear when that might happen.
First Lady Jill Biden will have a separate agenda alongside the Prime Minister's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. In the evening, the Bidens are expected to join the Trudeaus and other high-profile guests for a meal at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
The brief visit entails multi-layered security throughout the capital, with the RCMP, US Secret Service and Provincial Police stationed in the parliamentary precincts and around the two airports closest to the city.
Roads are closed and official planes have flown over the city for a whirlwind 27-hour visit with many bilateral programs.
