Canada’s prime minister welcomed Mexican president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto to Ottawa on Wednesday to discuss trade, security and ending visa restrictions on Mexicans traveling here.
Pena Nieto, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), takes office on Saturday, and will replace Felipe Calderon from the conservative National Action Party (PAN), with whom Harper has had a close working relationship.
He told a joint press conference that he shares with his host Harper a desire to work together “to increase the competitiveness of the North American region.”
“My government will insist that we have greater integration of Canada, Mexico and the United States. This will allow us to improve our competitiveness and promote more job creation,” Pena Nieto said.
The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement created the largest trading bloc in the world by eliminating import tariffs on goods circulating among partners Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Mexico and Canada are now also looking to boost regional and global trade ties through two other groupings — the TransPacific Partnership and the Pacific Alliance.
A visa restriction imposed by Canada on visiting Mexicans since July 2009 as part of a crackdown on bogus refugee claims however has been a thorn in Canada-Mexico relations.
Harper said his government is rewriting Canada’s immigration laws to provide greater flexibility in tackling false refugee claims as well as address Mexico’s concerns.
“The president and I discussed the matter and I said that our officials would examine options on a step-by-step basis to address the situation,” Harper said.
“We would ultimately like to see visa-free travel with Mexico but we do have to be certain that we’re able to address the (bogus claims) as we don’t want have a recurrence of the problems that we had in the past.”
Pro-immigration activist here say thousands of Mexicans have been ordered deported from Canada since a crackdown on bogus refugee claims and the imposition of visa restrictions on Mexican visitors.
Nearly two million Canadians meanwhile travel to Mexico on vacation every winter.
Canada PM welcomes Mexico president-elect
