Harper to join U.S., Mexican leaders at New Orleans summit

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will join his U.S. and Mexican counterparts in New Orleans on Monday for the fourth annual North American Leaders' Summit to discuss issues of shared concern, including border security and trade.

Harper, to be accompanied by Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Industry Minister Jim Prentice, will spend two days with U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon to talk about trilateral issues, the CBC's Keith Boag said.

Issues ranging from recent Cuban and Venezuelan leadership changes to carbon sequestration and food testing were mentioned as possible topics of discussion during various pre-summit briefings.

The White House has said pushing for common regulations in the auto sector — on fuel efficiency, for example — will be a priority in the talks. Canadian government officials didn't mention the auto sector as a discussion topic.

U.S. officials have also hinted of a possible announcement about improving the Windsor-Detroit border crossing, a four-lane bridge built in 1929 that handles one-quarter of all Canada-U.S. trade. That's more than the U.S. imports from Japan.

The U.S. has uncomfortable relations with Cuba and Venezuela and will want support from Canada and Mexico for its position, he said.

The newsiest part of the summit may be what Canada and Mexico will have to say about recent talks in the U.S. presidential campaign about reforming the North American Free Trade Agreement, Boag said.

The Bush Administration opposes such talk but both U.S. Democratic challengers, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have threatened to dump NAFTA unless it's reopened to include protection for workers and the environment.

Source:CBC top stories