Harper greets G8 leaders: PM hails U.K. budget cuts ahead of dual summit talks

Prime Minister Stephen Harper greets U.S. President Barack Obama at the Deerhurst Resort near Huntsville, Ont., on Friday at the start of the G8 summit. (Charles Dharapak/Associated Press)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has formally welcomed G8 leaders at the organization's annual summit in Huntsville, Ont., where they are expected to discuss global security, and Canada's key initiative on maternal and child health.

The leaders of the seven other Group of Eight leading economic powers — France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the United States and Russia — are gathering in the exclusive Deerhurst Resort near Huntsville before they join other G20 delegates in Toronto on Saturday.

Ahead of the formal talks, Harper praised Britain's new government for its recent spending cuts, saying British Prime Minister David Cameron's budget "highlighted the very fiscal consolidation" Canada was trying to steer the G20 toward at this weekend's summit in Toronto.

British Prime Minister David Cameron shares a laugh with Prime Minister Stephen Harper before the G8 summit near Huntsville, Ont., on Friday. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

"I appreciate your responsible and difficult decisions in that regard," Harper told Cameron during the leaders' brief remarks to reporters at the G8 site.

Cameron replied he believed the spending cuts were what "needs to be done" and said he looked forward to working with other leaders at the dual summits to "address the imbalances that we have."

While some leaders are calling for continued stimulus spending in the wake of last year's financial crisis, Harper is expected to call on G20 leaders to cut their budget deficits in half within three years.

During their remarks, the British leader also disclosed he went for a swim in the lake at the Deerhurst Resort, where leaders are meeting.

"Good for you," Harper said, then added he didn't get that kind of "free time."

"It just means you get up very early," the British PM replied.

'Designated speech area' quiet

Police escorted about two dozen protesters down the main street of Huntsville in the morning. The protesters, who were calling on G8 leaders to declare water a human right, decided to turn around after five minutes and return to the site where they began.

Meanwhile, the "designated speech area" on the outskirts of town was quiet ahead of the summit. Ontario Provincial Police are patrolling the area roughly eight kilometres from the actual summit site.

The CBC's Dave Seglins visited the area early Friday morning and described it as a large farm field.

"It's way out of town, it's buggy, there has not been a single protester here," Seglins said.

Maternal health plan at forefront

One of the main items on the agenda will be Harper's maternal health initiative, aimed at dramatically reducing the number of women in the developing world who die in childbirth and the number of children who succumb to preventable diseases.

Harper's spokesman Dimitri Soudas said G8 leaders seem very interested in the maternal health initiative, but added it was premature to speculate whether individual leaders would make their own personal pledges.

"So far, the discussions have been in a positive direction," Soudas told reporters. "Non-G8 countries have also expressed interest in it. We obviously welcome contributions from non-G8 countries."

But the Harper government's plan is not without controversy, as Canada has said its share of the money cannot be used to fund abortions.

Meg French, director of international programs for UNICEF Canada, wants more than a vague promise from leaders.

"I'd like to see not just a commitment to reducing the deaths of women and children — but a clear plan for getting to there," French said.

French said there are a lot of ways to improve the health of women and children, so each country — including Canada — should be able to find initiatives to fund, noting that politicians can turn for ideas to the seven African leaders who will also be at the summit.

"This cannot be a plan that's implemented on countries," she said. "This has got to be a joint plan."

Economist Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, has called on leaders to honour earlier funding commitments, saying implementation of previous G8 initiatives to fight hunger, poverty and disease has fallen short.

But building a consensus for this summit has been a challenge, as some countries don't want specific commitments to be made public.

It now appears Friday's announcement will talk about an overall commitment, though Canadian officials have pledged that Canada's commitment will be spelled out in detail.

Divisions on financial reform

Financial reform and the economic recovery will be on the agenda at the G20 meeting in Toronto over the weekend. But unity on financial reform is proving elusive as the urgency of the financial meltdown passes.

World leaders are divided on a number of key financial issues, including a proposal to slap a tax on major international banks. European nations such as England, France and Germany want an international tax on financial transactions, to pay for future bank bailouts, something Canada is strongly opposed to.

And with different countries emerging from recession at different rates, there is division on how quickly the unprecedented stimulus spending should be unwound.

The United States is leading the charge for more government spending to kick-start its moribund economy, while leaders in the rest of the world have turned their attention to tackling their bloated federal deficits.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, thousands of police officers are preparing for the arrival of G20 leaders — and protesters.

Security costs for the G8/G20 summit are expected to surpass $1 billion.

The government has defended the amount, saying the spending is needed to protect the leaders, as well as thousands of delegates and reporters.