Prime Minister Trudeau to meet with Mexican leader to wrap up time at North American Leaders’ Summit
Trudeau and Biden wrapped up a pair of their own loose ends on Jan. 10, including a workaround for the imperilled Nexus trusted-traveller program and a schedule for the president's long-delayed first visit to Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to meet one-on-one with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Jan. 11 as he wraps up his time at the North American Leaders’ Summit.
Trudeau begins the day with a keynote speech on the relationship between Canada and Mexico, easily the most overlooked bilateral dynamic on a continent far more seized with relations that involve the United States.
The two leaders are to sign a declaration on Indigenous co-operation before Trudeau holds a news conference before departing for Ottawa.
If Jan. 10 was any indication, the afternoon schedule may need to be flexible.
Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden stared at their feet as the famously long-winded Lopez Obrador spent nearly 30 minutes answering a single question during a marathon news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City.
Speaking entirely in Spanish, he acknowledged at one point that he’d been talking for too long — and when he was done, Biden wasted no time wrapping things up.
“For the record, I don’t know what questions I didn’t answer,” the U.S. president said before decamping for Air Force 1 and a prompt return to the White House.
One of those questions was about Biden’s own public-speaking proclivities: unapologetically touting his protectionist Buy American doctrine to domestic audiences while singing the praises of continental co-operation internationally.
Trudeau, however, likely won’t shy away from the topic on Jan. 11, having raised it directly with the U.S. president in their own bilateral meeting the day before.
Trudeau and Biden wrapped up a pair of their own loose ends on Jan. 10, including a workaround for the imperilled Nexus trusted-traveller program and a schedule for the president’s long-delayed first visit to Canada.
A modified form of Nexus, jointly run by the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, will be up and running by the spring, said Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.
The changes, which include a streamlined but still separate interview process, a faster renewals process and expanded staffing levels on the U.S. side, would increase the system’s ability to process Nexus applications by 50 per cent, he said.
“The demand is there because people see this as a way to accelerate their travel in a flexible, seamless and efficient way,” he said. “That’s precisely what the vision of this program is, so this is truly a win-win.”
The system is currently dealing with a backlog of between 220,000 and 240,000 applications, he added.
The agreement will allow Canada’s Nexus enrolment centres to reopen, with interviews with U.S. border agents taking place at Canadian airport facilities that already provide preclearance services for travellers heading stateside.
