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Obama Bringing Top Advisors as Ottawa Beefs Up Security

by Rob Walker | February 18, 2009 at 10:04 am

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While he's only going to be in Canada for about seven hours, US President Barack Obama seems ready to hit the ground running. As part of his entourage, Obama will be bringing his top advisors to meet with Stephen Harper.

Obama is bringing along his top people in a number of sectors, including the economy, energy, environment and security.

Barack Obama comes to Ottawa tomorrow with a raft of his most powerful political deputies – a decision his advisers say is a signal to Canada and the world that "we intend to hit the ground running."

In an interview with CBC news on Tuesday, Obama said he wouldn't push Harper on keeping troops in Afghanistan past their 2011 pull-out date. He did, however, express hope that they can address it again when 2011 comes around.

In an interview with CBC television yesterday, the President said he won't press Prime Minister Harper for Canadian troops to stay past the 2011 deadline set for their withdrawal from Kandahar. But he also hinted that there's still time for progress in Afghanistan to change Canada's mind.

Security measures are already being put in place in Ottawa in advance of Obama's visit, and they will be tightened heavily on Thursday. Many roads near parliament hill will be closed, planes will be halted and there will be an upgraded police presence.

Roads will be closed, planes will be halted, buses will be rerouted, police will flood the street. And for all of the inconvenience and disruption, the ordinary guy or gal in Ottawa is unlikely to catch so much as a glimpse of Barack Obama.

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James Chutter

at 18:47 on February 18th, 2009

On behalf of Canadian Tourism Commission we shot some videos of Canadians welcoming President Obama to Canada.Welcome to Canada President Obama!It looks like Ottawa is getting ready for the big day.