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Lopez Obrador keen to engage Trudeau on Indigenous reconciliation challenges

Nov 18, 2021 | 11:32 AM

OTTAWA — The Mexican ambassador to Canada says President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador is keen to engage Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on finding ways to heal relations with Indigenous Peoples in his country.

Juan Jose Gomez Camacho, the Mexican ambassador to Canada, tells The Canadian Press that Lopez Obrador says Canada and Mexico can share experiences on healing their respective relationships with Indigenous Peoples.

Gomez Camacho says Lopez Obrador is more than ready to engage directly with Trudeau on the issue because both of them have placed Indigenous reconciliation at the centre of their agendas.

Trudeau and Lopez Obrador met face-to-face for the first time in Washington before taking part in the first North America Leaders’ Summit in five years, hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.

American officials say part of that agenda will include a Biden-driven initiative to create a North American working group on violence against Indigenous women and girls.

When the North American leaders last met in Ottawa in 2016, a similar framework was announced but it was essentially shelved when Donald Trump succeeded Barack Obama at the White House.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2021.

The Canadian Press