G8 leaders talk nukes, global security

TORONTO — Leaders of the G8 nations began their second day of talks on Saturday with a focus on nuclear non-proliferation and the threat to global security posed by Iran and North Korea.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his fellow leaders of the world’s major industrialized nations were to spend the morning in the heavily guarded Deerhurst resort in Huntsville, Ont., about 2 1/2-hours north of Toronto.

Later in the afternoon, they were to travel to Toronto, where thousands of protesters are gathering and a small army of police is preparing for the possibility of violence as people attempt to storm the fence which rings the G20 summit’s "hot zone".

Once in the city’s downtown core, G8 leaders will join their colleagues from the G20 group of nations to discuss the state of the world economy. Those talks will continue Sunday and focus on contentious issues such as how quickly to scale back on economic stimulus spending, how rapidly to slash national deficits, and whether to impose a tax on banks.

At a briefing Saturday morning, Dimitri Soudas, director of communications for Harper, said the G8 leaders will be urged by Canada to take strong stands against Iran and North Korea.

He said the there is no doubt the two countries are "real threats to global security."

Soudas said Canada will call on G8 leaders to implement a United Nations resolution that would expand existing sanctions against Iran as punishment for its continued efforts to gain nuclear technology.

Harper also views North Korea’s recent sinking of a South Korean frigate as a "serious provocation", said Soudas.

Len Edwards, a senior federal bureaucrat who is acting as Canada’s "sherpa" at the summit, said the Harper government is looking for a clear signal from the G8 that such military actions are unacceptable.

"Canada’s view is that there has to be a strong condemnation of this attack," said Edwards.

Also on Saturday morning, the G8 leaders were expected to discuss the turmoil in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and how terrorist groups in those countries pose a threat to countries around the world.

At Saturday evening’s G20 working dinner, leaders are expected to talk about a range of issues – keeping the economic recovery alive, financial reform, trade and protectionism.

Harper will remind the group that countries need to take further steps to protect the economy and keep it from sliding back into recession.

One of the most contentious issues heading into the G20 summit is whether member nations should continue pumping public funds into the economy or begin slashing the budget deficits they rang up during the recession.

Harper is expected to continue pressing leaders to adopt concrete targets for climbing out of debt. Canada has proposed that countries cut their deficits in half by 2013, and at least stabilize their debt-to-GDP ratios by 2016.

The prime minister is also expected to encourage leaders to accelerate their negotiations on banking reforms. Financial-reform talks at the G20 gained new momentum Friday after the U.S. Congress clinched a deal on a tough bill to clamp down on risk-taking on Wall Street.

However, Canada is also arguing that countries should be allowed to go there own way on a European proposal to impose a global bank tax, which Canada has steadfastly opposed.

At the end of Friday’s G8 meeting, Harper had an evening meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Soudas said the two men reviewed the progress that had been made earlier in the day and "co-ordinated their efforts" for further talks this weekend.

The first day of the G8 meeting ended with an announcement Friday that a billions of dollars will be set aside for a maternal and child health initiative.

In total, $7.3 billion will be devoted over five years to improve the health and nutrition of women and young children in poor nations. Of that, $5 billion comes from G8 nations and $2.3 billion comes from several other countries and private foundations. Canada’s share – $1.1 billion – was disproportionately large and Harper touted it as an example of how this country regards the initiative as crucial.

Aid groups were generally critical of the announcement, saying the G8 fell far short of what is needed. Some noted that while Canada’s share might sound high, it’s about the same as what is being spent to provide security for the twin G8 and G20 summits.

As it turned out, there was little need for the large police presence in Huntsville because only a small group of protesters showed up on Friday.

In Toronto, about 2,000 people marched through the streets Friday afternoon and much larger rallies are expected Saturday.