PM to raise ‘backsliding' women's rights issue

PENCE VISIT

OTTAWA • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he’ll raise his concern that the U.S. is “backsliding” on women’s rights during a visit Thursday by Vice President Mike Pence, a noted abortion opponent.

Trudeau, speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, said his meeting with Pence will mostly centre on the new trade deal between the two countries and Mexico to replace NAFTA. But he signalled he’ll also address abortion. Trudeau and his government are avowed defenders of abortion rights.

“Obviously, I’m very concerned with the situation around the backsliding of women’s rights that we’re seeing from conservative movements here in Canada, in the United States and around the world,” Trudeau said, according to the CBC. “I will have a broad conversation with the vice president — of course that’ll come up, but we’re going to mostly focus around the ratification process on NAFTA and making sure that we get good jobs for Canadians.”

Pence announced the trip earlier this month and said he was going to call for swift adoption of the new trade deal. A senior official in the Trump administration, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the trip,

I’M VERY CONCERNED WITH THE SITUATION AROUND THE BACKSLIDING OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS.

said the White House is calling on Congress to bring the deal up for a vote. Canada introduced its ratification bill Wednesday.

Trudeau and Pence are also expected to discuss the situation in Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro has been accused of stealing his last election. Juan Guaido, the head of opposition-dominated National Assembly, says he is the country’s rightful leader. Both the U.S. and Canada support Guaido.

Pence and Trudeau also plan to discuss China’s Huawei Technologies Co., the U.S. official said. The Trump administration is seeking to choke off Beijing’s access to key technologies by limiting the sale of vital U.S. components to the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker over security concerns.

Canada is concerned about its citizens held captive in China since Canada arrested Huawei’s chief financial officer in December at the request of the U.S.

Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were seized nine days later.

Asked about Trudeau’s concern about “backsliding” women’s rights, the U.S. official said they’d see what Trudeau has to say during the meeting.