OTTAWA - Stephen Harper and his fellow North American leaders will wrap up their summit Tuesday with a call for a new border disaster protocol to avoid a repeat of the crippling tie-ups that occurred after 9-11, The Canadian Press has learned.
The final communique from the two-day summit will include an order from Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon to their respective cabinet ministers to create new border regulations for emergencies, said sources in two countries.
They want to see rules on who and what would be allowed to cross North American borders amid crises like a terrorist attack or an outbreak of avian flu.
The move is the latest effort to increase security while allowing goods to flow freely, and stems from the chaotic aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.
The security clampdowns and protracted lineups six years ago cost the North American economy billions of dollars and, by some estimates, has since reduced Canadian exports to the U.S. by more than $10 billion.
The border announcement is one of several expected at the summit. The leaders also plan to announce that they will recognize the research of each country's food and drug regime in an effort to reduce costs and avoid duplication.
A Canada-Mexico deal is also brewing that would allow more Mexican migrant workers into Canada under an expanded program for agricultural labourers. U.S. Congress killed a similar attempt earlier this year to reach such an agreement between that country and Mexico.
The three leaders will arrive Monday at a posh resort in Montebello, Que. They will announce the new border initiative when the summit wraps up the following day, said sources in two countries.
"You've got thousands of miles of border between us -- so it's logical that border preparedness will be discussed,'' said one Bush administration official.
"Avian flu is a part of that.''
Even before the summit began, it drew protests Sunday, including one that resulted in a commercial rail line being temporarily blocked in Montreal.
Several hundred people converged on Parliament Hill while several dozen others cycled 70 km toward the summit site.
There were seemingly as many causes as there were protesters, who condemned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the leaders' performance on the environment, the plight of aboriginals, and the human-rights abuses committed in the war on terror.
One common complaint echoed through many of the fiery speeches and on the posters people waved beneath the Peace Tower in the nation's capital -- the secrecy surrounding the meeting.
Three elected leaders are meeting to discuss the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership, but little else has been disclosed.
A group of powerful business executives has been invited to make a closed-door presentation at the summit on changes they believe the continent needs. No such invitation was extended to scientists, environmentalists, or other social activists.
Critics say the security and prosperity partnership is anti-democratic.
Protest leader Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians said people shouldn't be fooled about who really sets the agenda at these summits: the 30 business leaders who sit on the North American Competitiveness Council.
The group comprises leaders from 10 companies in each country and includes corporations like Wal-Mart, General Electric and weapons-maker Lockheed Martin. They advise the three national governments on facilitating trade.
"These people don't care about you, and they don't care about your quality of life, and they don't care about food safety, and they don't care about true security,'' Barlow told a crowd on Parliament Hill.
"They only care about making money.
"And the only way they could do it was to make an agreement with the Bush government that they would help to spread Bush's war on terror and help to create a Fortress North America.''
In Montreal, some protesters placed two concrete blocks on opposite sides of Canadian Pacific railway tracks and tied a banner between them.
The act took place in the middle of the night and the rail line -- which leads to container ships at the Port of Montreal -- was reopened Sunday after a security inspection and a delay of several hours.
"A couple of trains were delayed,'' said CP spokesman Michel Spenard."(The banner) is in the possession of Montreal police.''
The anonymous saboteurs sent out a news release claiming credit for the blockage but didn't identify the group responsible or their main motivation.
They merely listed a range of unrelated complaints: treatment of indigenous people, the post 9-11 security clampdowns at the border, politicians' alleged pandering to business and -- apparently unaware that they were attacking Canadian Pacific tracks -- several complaints about competitor Canadian National.
Protesters will not be allowed near the summit site but will have their activities relayed to the leaders by a most unconventional method: video link.
Bush will interrupt his annual Texas holiday and will travel to Canada on Monday.
Calderon also arrives Monday, but will remain in Canada for an extra day after the summit to have a one-on-one meeting with Harper on Wednesday.
