President Vicente Fox is looking to expand a migration program that allows thousands of Mexicans to work legally in Canada, a high-ranking foreign official said Thursday. During his visit next week to Ottawa, Canada, Fox will meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin and discuss the possibility of expanding a 30-year-old temporary work program that brings more than 10,000 construction, factory and service workers to Canada each year, mainly to the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Manitoba.
"We are on track to achieve this expansion," said Gerónimo Gutiérrez, the Foreign Relations Department's deputy secretary for North American affairs.
He told reporters Friday that Fox will also discuss with Martin U.N. reforms aimed at making the international body stronger.
Since the United States led an attack on Iraq something Fox opposed the Mexican president has been lobbying for a return to multilateralism and ensuring that the United Nations remains the organization where international conflicts are solved.
Fox is scheduled to arrive Sunday afternoon in Ottawa, then meet Martin and Canadian business leaders on Monday. He will also address Parliament, and meet with some of the 36,000 Mexicans living in Canada.
Fox will also be looking to expand financial ties with Canada. The two countries, along with the United States, make up the North American Free Trade Agreement.
