AMIGOS-ISH — The Beast is coming.
And so is U.S. President JOE BIDEN. The White House has confirmed Biden’s visit to Canada, ending marathon speculation about when the U.S. leader would show up north of the border. — Answer: In his 26th month in the Oval Office — nine months after Trudeau’s office teased the president would be visiting “in the coming months.” Former U.S. ambo BRUCE HEYMAN noted that Trudeau was the first virtual foreign leader at the Biden White House in the days when Covid-19 travel restrictions grounded world leaders. He downplayed any interpretations of the delay as a snub. — Another explanation: Biden has been busy repairing relationships around the world in the wake of DONALD TRUMP, the BARACK OBAMA-era envoy told Playbook. “That’s work that’s still in progress,” Heyman said. “When you're disappointed by your friend, you don't show up the next day and say, ‘It's me now. Everything's good.’” — Number of countries Biden has visited as president: 17. Biden’s March date aligns with the window in which Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND is expected to table the federal budget. The very one Ottawa has been saying will contain “significant” measures in response to Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Being in Ottawa will give Biden the opportunity to raise concerns directly that Canada’s proposed digital service tax and the Liberals’ Online Streaming Act, which is at the brink of becoming law, discriminate against U.S. businesses. — Diplomatic double double: The 10th North American Leaders’ Summit is in the books and it’s Canada’s turn again to host the next one. Migration has been a top trilateral topic since the first summit in 2005 and is poised to be a bigger issue, Heyman said. “If millions of migrants continue to try to get into the United States, or untold amounts of fentanyl and drugs, and we don't work to arrest that, that doesn't just stop right there at the border,” he said. “That unfortunately moves throughout North America. And that's a risk for Canada.” — Migration points in Ottawa: Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE had some interesting thoughts to share Tuesday about the unofficial border crossing at Roxham Road, which tens of thousands of asylum seekers used to enter Canada last year. “I understand why people want to cross at Roxham Road,” he said in French. “They’re human beings. I have nothing against people. In some cases, they are victims, too, of a system that isn’t functioning.” Poilievre struck a different tone from a previous iteration of the Conservative party, which in 2018 often referred to the asylum seekers as “illegal border crossers.” — That said: He did not disavow Quebec Conservative MP RICHARD MARTEL, who reportedly refused to help a family of asylum seekers facing deportation after entering Canada via Roxham Road, calling them “illegal refugees.” “It is not legal to cross there. That is a reality. It is not legal to cross at that point,” the Conservative leader said. He said Canada should renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States in order to close the Roxham Road crossing. — Hallway conversation: Congressman BRIAN HIGGINS (D-N.Y.) says border issues should be at the heart of bilat U.S.-Canada talks. “Now is the time for the United States and Canada to rethink our binational policy at the northern border with two words in mind: efficiency and security,” the Democrat told Playbook. “And the inability of our governments to agree to basic functions — like how to make it easy for residents to process NEXUS applications, harmonize vaccination requirements, or promote new modes of preclearance — should be a wake-up call to all of us.” Do you enjoy Ottawa Playbook? Maybe you know others who would like it, too.Point them to this link where they can sign up for free. | 
