EDMONTON — Prime Minister Paul Martin has been on the phone with Alberta's premier, getting advice on what to say to U.S. President George Bush about mad cow disease.

Jim Law, a spokesman for Ralph Klein in Calgary, said Martin called the premier Tuesday to ask what he should stress when he meets with Bush in mid-January.

The two leaders are to have a bilateral meeting at the Summit of the Americas that starts Jan 12 in Monterey, Mex., although officials have also talked about a possible meeting after that in the United States.

"The premier was very pleased the new prime minister took the time to phone and to ask for his input on this issue" Law said.

U.S. authorities believe a cow that surfaced in Washington state last week with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, the scientific name for mad cow disease, might have originated in Alberta.

Canadian and U.S. investigations are underway to determine whether the Holstein dairy cow was born on a farm near Leduc, just south of Edmonton, to a farmer who eventually sold his entire herd.

A previous case of mad cow surfaced in May in northern Alberta.

Klein told Martin he should stress two issues during his meeting with Bush.

"First was the absolute need for the two countries to work together" said Law.

"The second point was the need for change to the international BSE protocols. They're out of date.

"They need to be based on sound science, the science of today, which has advanced so far since these protocols were established" he said.

On Tuesday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced her country will implement more measures to protect against mad cow disease. They include banning the sale of products from sick or crippled cattle and banning high-risk tissues such as spinal cords and brains from the food chain.

Opposition politicians have accused Martin of being silent on the latest BSE crisis to hit an already bruised Canadian beef industry.

Alliance MP Rick Casson, who represents a Lethbridge riding in southern Alberta, has suggested Martin has failed his first test to end western alienation.

Klein doesn't see it that way.

"It means (Martin's) paying attention, that the issue is high on his list of priorities and that he'll carry it forward accordingly to the U.S. president" Law said.

Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan tried to reassure Canadians on Tuesday that Martin is paying close attention to the mad cow situation and how it may affect Canadian producers.

"I just want to reassure everyone that the prime minister of Canada has been, from the outset, fully engaged in this file" she said after a meeting with federal Agriculture Minister Bob Speller.

"I talk to him on a regular basis, both in terms of what is happening domestically and what might be appropriate at the international level".