Halifax protest organizers turned down an offer to stage a demonstration across the street from where U.S. President George Bush is scheduled to speak Wednesday, out of concern for participants' safety.

Protest organizer Alleson Kase told reporters, "If the impact is diminished, that's the price we're willing to pay to help ensure the safety of the participants."

The Halifax Peace Coalition is facilitating this demonstration, but it is a joint effort by numerous groups.

Instead, protesters will meet at Grand Parade Square for a rally and march to Cornwallis Park in Halifax. Cornwallis Park is near the museum where Bush will give his speech, but it is a wide-open area.

Kase said the site offered by officials could only contain about 1,000 demonstrators. Should more people turn up, it could become unsafe, she said.

Tamara Lorincz, spokesperson for the Halifax Peace Coalition, was wary of offering a prediction of how many people will show up.

There is only one way in and out of the site across the street from the museum at Pier 21, where thousands of immigrants first landed in Canada.

"As [Bush] is flying in, he's going to see the floods of people streaming through the downtown," Lorincz said.

"Somebody could have a heart attack, somebody could have an emergency medical situation, you might want to get an ambulance," Kase said of the other site, "Could an ambulance get in if the area was filled with people? We don't know."

Sergeant Don Spicer of the Halifax Regional Police told ATV's Marc Patrone, "If that's their sense, they have a feel for numbers, we applaud them for taking a step to find another location."

Protests were already underway Tuesday although Bush wasn't scheduled to arrive in Halifax until Wednesday.

The Peace Coalition picketed SNC Lavalin, a Canadian company they say sells bullets to the U.S. Army in Iraq. Some protesters in Saint John and Fredericton also turned out for small protests. But organizers say they are expecting most of the protesters to turn up for the main demonstration scheduled on Wednesday when Bush arrives for his brief two-hour visit.

The U.S. president is expected to thank the hospitality of easterners who took in grounded American travellers in the days following the 9/11 attacks.

However, at least one Halifax family who hosted Americans during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks told reporters Monday they don't want Bush's thanks.

Prominent Halifax lawyer Anne Derrick and her husband Archie Kaiser put up a New Jersey family for several days after 9/11. Derrick says she doesn't like the idea of her city being used as a "photo opportunity" for a world leader she says has "blood on his hands."

"We will not be cheerleaders for his administration's brutal foreign policies," said Derrick.

The air space around the city's airport will be restricted during Bush's visit, as will a 22-kilometre radius around the airport.

Take-offs and landings will be prohibited for 20 minutes before and 20 minutes after the president's arrival and departure.

In addition to Canadian security, Bush will be bringing a team of Secret Servicemen, and is also said to be bringing his own armoured car and helicopter.

With files from ATV's Marc Patrone and Canadian Press