Biden arrives in Canada

Ottawa, The Gulf Observer: US President Joe Biden has arrived in Canada for talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on several of the world’s most difficult challenges: the war in Ukraine, climate crisis, trade, mass migration and an increasingly assertive China.

Two important agreements appeared to be in hand before Biden even departed Washington on Thursday.

Canada will escalate its timeline for military upgrades to the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the two nations have reached an agreement to update rules for migrants seeking asylum, according to US and Canadian officials. The officials were not authorised to comment publicly and requested anonymity.

The migration deal eliminates a loophole under existing rules that will allow both countries to turn away asylum seekers at the countries’ borders. The loophole resulted in thousands of migrants annually crossing into Canada from the US at a non-official checkpoint, enabling them to stay in the country as they seek asylum instead of letting the process play out while staying in the US.

As part of the agreement, Canada is expected to announce that 15,000 migrants from the Western Hemisphere will be given slots to apply to enter the country, according to a Canadian official.

The new policy applies to people without US or Canadian citizenship who are caught within 14 days of crossing the border between the two countries.

Biden and Trudeau did not respond to questions from reporters about the agreement when the president and first lady Jill Biden arrived for a private gathering at the prime minister’s residence.

The White House declined to comment on the agreement, which is expected to be formally announced on Friday.

The visit comes as the Biden administration has made strengthening its relationship with Canada a priority over the past two years. Both sides see the meetings in the capital of Ottawa as an opportunity to set plans for the future.

National security and air defences are top of mind after a Chinese spy balloon last month traversed North America.