PRESS DIGEST - Canada - Dec 3

Dec 3 (Reuters) - The following are top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL:

- A defiant Stephen Harper spearheaded a campaign against the role of separatists in the alliance gunning to defeat him and raised the spectre of a national unity crisis as the prime minister laid the groundwork Tuesday for a last-resort bid to suspend Parliament.

- Fred Doucet, Brian Mulroney's former chief of staff, received a list from Air Canada detailing how many Airbus aircraft had been delivered to the airline in the early 1990s, contradicting Doucet's sworn testimony that he has "no knowledge at all about anything involving Airbus." - India was warned that terrorists were plotting to attack Mumbai from the sea, U.S. officials said Tuesday, adding to the growing suspicions that Indian security agencies were lax in failing to prevent the massacre of more than 170 people in the port city.

Report on Business Section:

- Research In Motion Ltd (RIM.TO) (RIMM.O) lowered its financial guidance for its third quarter on Tuesday, saying it has added fewer new subscribers than expected as the economy slowed.

- The wounded Detroit Three auto makers increased their plea for emergency U.S. government help to $28 billion yesterday and the largest of them warned of imminent collapse and economic catastrophe if Washington denies the request.

NATIONAL POST:

- To save his job and his government, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected within Conservative circles to prorogue, or suspend, Parliament this week while his party blitzes the country with a public-relations campaign aimed at discrediting the notion of a Liberal-led coalition government.

Financial Post Section:

- Canadian auto sales fell 10.3 pct in November after two months of meagre gains, signalling Canadians are finally feeling the buying jitters Americans have experienced for more than a year.

- Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) is pulling back on lending to consumers and warning investors to brace for softer earnings next year as the economy slides into recession.