OTTAWA | Of the many issues Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden will discuss over the next 24 hours, managing the flow of migrants on Roxham Road could well be the subject of a specific announcement.
• Also read: Heavy artillery deployed for Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa
This is what Mr Trudeau proposed today, noting that “we have been working closely with the Americans for several months to restore the situation at Roxham Road. […] then we might have something to announce.”
As well as the refugee issue, “of course we’re going to talk about China,” Mr. Trudeau said. A symbol of high-tension global geopolitics, the meeting between the two North American allies will take place in the same week as that of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Busy schedule
Also on the agenda are jobs, growth, essential minerals and the fight against climate change, aid to Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, defence, the Arctic, foreign interference, the banking crisis, trade in electric vehicles and timber and regulation of the web giants.
“Quite a busy agenda,” breathed US Presidential Security spokesman John Kirby yesterday
Regarding internet giants, US trade associations are urging Joe Biden to voice his concerns over bills C-18 and C-11. These would force American web giants to contribute to local culture and pay the news media for the content they broadcast.
One night in Canada
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister
So Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau won’t have too many 24 hours to debate. Rarely has an American president stayed in Ottawa. Not even Barack Obama, who was close to Justin Trudeau and was happy to volunteer for the walkabout game in the Canadian capital.
No biscuit at ByWard Market on the agenda this time, but several hours face-to-face between the two heads of state, beginning with an informal evening at Rideau Cottage tonight, after a cocktail with Governor-General Mary Simon. They will then meet alone in Parliament tomorrow, flanked by their ministers and their delegation.
Three key themes of this visit
DEFENSE
Ten months after Canada announced a $4.9 billion investment to modernize the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) radars, Americans will be demanding concrete progress in defending our skies and our Arctic, says Rob Huebert, a North Defense Expert at the University of Calgary.
He points out that North America faces an “imminent threat” from Russian or Chinese missile attacks, according to the Americans. They therefore need more than declarations of intent to be reassured.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg himself expressed concerns during his visit to the Arctic last August: “The shortest route to North America for Russian missiles and bombers would be via the North Pole.”
At the same time, Joe Biden will not fail to ask Canada for a stronger commitment to solving the crisis in Haiti, notes Eugene Lang, a professor at Queen’s University and a former chief of staff to the defense secretary.
IMMIGRATION
Photo archive, Martin Alarie
It’s important to do more in Haiti, particularly to reduce the influx of asylum seekers from the island who are gathering at the United States’ southern border and on Roxham Road. The exchange on both topics should therefore be linked.
“If the Canadian government is to speak about Roxham, it must first recognize that the United States is under tremendous pressure on its southern border. We must therefore be ready to get to the root of the root causes in Central America and Haiti,” said Roland Paris, professor at the University of Ottawa and former foreign relations adviser to Justin Trudeau.
For Washington, Roxham is just a drop in the bucket of the deep migration crisis shaking the hemisphere: With 2.3 million arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants in 2022, our neighbor is under unprecedented pressure.
GREEN ECONOMY
Photo agency QMI, Joël Lemay
Investing in the fight against and adaptation to climate change is a concern for Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau, who share a vision of the energy transition.
However, Canada is not immune to American protectionism permeating the Anti-Inflation Act, notes Mr. Paris. This massive Biden administration program authorizes $369 billion in energy spending to address climate change.
Canada wants to ensure the United States opens the door to tens of billions of dollars of investment in clean energy like batteries. It must also ensure that our economy remains attractive given the scale of tax credits, grants and loans Washington is offering.
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