Summit looks at security

MONTEBELLO, Canada -- Security issues highlighted the North American summit Monday where President Bush and the leaders of Mexico and Canada are crafting a plan to secure their borders in case of a terrorist strike or other emergency.

Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper want to find a way to protect citizens in an emergency -- perhaps an outbreak of avian flu or a natural disaster -- without the tie-ups that slowed commerce after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Calderon is cutting short his trip to Canada to return home to manage his own natural disaster: Hurricane Dean is bearing down on the Yucatan Peninsula. Maurico Guerrero, a spokesman for the Mexican embassy in Canada, said Calderon will attend all the events Tuesday at the summit, but his schedule has been streamlined and he will no longer stay another day, as planned.

The three leaders are also seeking middle ground on issues ranging from energy to trade, food safety to immigration. Few, if any, formal announcements are expected at the meeting at a highly secured red cedar chateau along the banks of the Ottawa River.

The meeting is also designed to bolster a compact -- dubbed the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America -- that serves as a way for the nations to team up on health, commerce and emergency preparedness.

"The focus over the last year has been on developing a plan on how the three countries can deal with the circumstances of avian influenza," said Dan Fisk, a National Security Council official who briefed reporters. "But building on that, we hope to have a larger discussion among the three countries -- on a continental basis -- about how are we prepared to deal generally with an emergency."

Several hundred demonstrators protested on issues such as the war in Iraq, human rights and integration of North America. One carried a banner that said, "Say No To Americanada."

Calderon and Harper both want tight relations with Bush, yet don't want to be seen as proteges of the unpopular president or leave the impression that the U.S. is encroaching on their sovereignty.

To that end, Harper used the meeting to assert his nation's claim to the Northwest Passage through the Arctic.

The race to secure subsurface rights to the Arctic seabed heated up when Russia sent two small submarines to plant a tiny national flag under the North Pole. The United States and Norway also have competing claims in the vast Arctic region, where a U.S. study suggests as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas could be hidden.

Canada believes much of the North American side of the Arctic is Canada's, but the United States says the thawing Northwest Passage is part of international waters.

A senior Canadian government official said Harper raised the recent remarks of Paul Cellucci, Bush's previous U.S. ambassador to Canada. Cellucci argued that the U.S. should acknowledge the Northwest Passage as Canadian so that the Canadian navy could to patrol the area, monitor shipping and guard against potential terrorism and weapons smuggling.

"I think, in the age of terrorism, it's in our security interests that the Northwest Passage be considered part of Canada," Cellucci said Sunday.

The United States did not appear to be swayed.

"The president came away with a far better understanding of Canada's position," Fisk said. "However, I will note that from the U.S. position, we continue to believe that the Northwest Passage is an international waterway."

Harper also raised concerns about new passport requirements for travelers and the war in Afghanistan.

A Canadian official said Harper told Bush what he's said publicly -- that Canada's military mission in Afghanistan will not be extended beyond 2009 without a consensus in the country and its Parliament. Canada has 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, fighting against the Taliban in the violent southern parts of the nation. Other countries, such as Germany and Italy, restrict the use of their forces to more peaceful areas in the north.

Calderon, in his first meeting with Bush since U.S. immigration legislation died in the Senate, has called that a "grave error." He is also rankled by the Bush administration's newly announced crackdown on employers who use illegal immigrants.

The United States is working on a major new aid plan to help Mexico fight violent drug trafficking, but White House officials said it's not likely to be announced at the summit. U.S. officials have lauded Calderon's crackdown on drug traffickers since he took office.

But Calderon has repeatedly pushed the U.S. to take more responsibility in fighting the two countries' common drug problem, including doing more to stop the flow of illegal U.S. arms into Mexico and trying to combat the demand for drugs north of the border. The issue of U.S. aid is a sensitive subject among Mexicans wary that U.S. help could lead to interventions that violate Mexican sovereignty.

When Bush arrived Monday in Ottawa, he was greeted by a bagpiper and a ceremonial honor guard dressed in red jackets and tall, black fur hats. Bush flew to the resort on the Marine One presidential helicopter. After his meetings, Bush took a mountain bike ride with Stockwell Day, Canadian public safety minister.

About 2,000 demonstrators descended on the town between Montreal and Ottawa. About 300 lingered directly in front of the resort compound's main gate

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that tear gas was used against several dozen protesters who threw rocks, branches and plastic bottles.

"I've heard it's nothing," Harper said, dismissing the protests as Bush arrived at the Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello. "A couple hundred? It's sad."