MONTEBELLO, Quebec 鈥?For a meeting about a secretive partnership among the heads of state of the United States, Canada and Mexico who have been reluctant to share with the public the details of the plan, the seclusion of Montebello, Quebec, is ideally situated.

The Fairmont Le Chateau resort, where U.S. President George W. Bush, Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper are meeting to discuss the Security and Prosperity Partnership, is literally in the middle of the rural Quebec woods.

At 4:30 a.m. today, SPP security workers began shuttling journalists by bus from Ottawa on the hour-long trek in the dark through the Canadian countryside.

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The resort itself has been surrounded by a double security fence 鈥?chain link on the outside perimeter and what appears to be a thick-mesh wire barrier dotted with live security cameras.

Within the compound, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are clearly in command, and busloads of heavily armed S没ret茅 du Qu茅bec, the provincial police, have been dispatched throughout the compound.

Military presence, both U.S. and Canadian, also is evident, although low-key.

When Bush arrived yesterday, Harper greeted him by commenting on his Secret Service detail, noting in the live feed over an open mike, that, "You really travel with a small army, don't you."

Bush, looking strained, laughed and responded that the setting for the meeting was beautiful.