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Canada’s Trudeau fined $100 but will he learn?

Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has been fined $100 and it wouldn’t be the first time he is falling fowl of the law which seeks to guide against unethical practices

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Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has been fined $100 and it wouldn’t be the first time he is falling fowl of the law which seeks to guide against unethical practices.

The country’s parliament ethics watchdog fined Trudeau with a fine for breaking the Conflict of Interest Act over a pair of sunglasses.

Trudeau paid $100 for failing to declare a gift worth more than $200 within 30 days of accepting it, according to a notice from the office of Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion. It was posted online sometime this month.

“As a result of an administrative error, the proper forms were not completed and the gift was not declared within 30 days,” said Trudeau’s press secretary Eleanore Catenaro in an email Friday.

The gift, according to the prime minister’s public declaration, was two pairs of leather-covered sunglasses made by Fellow Earthlings eyewear, based in the rural P.E.I. community of Guernsey Cove.

They were a gift from P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan last summer and retail between $300 and $500.

The fine was first reported by the Ottawa-based website Blacklock’s Reporter.

Trudeau sported the sunglasses on his trip to Vietnam in 2017.

It’s not the first time the prime minister has been caught on the wrong side of the Conflict of Interest Act.

Dion’s predecessor, Mary Dawson, ruled last year that Trudeau violated some provisions of the act when he vacationed on a private island owned by the Aga Khan during the 2016 Christmas season and took a private helicopter to get there.

She said the vacation could reasonably be seen as an effort to influence Mr. Trudeau in his capacity as prime minister.

Dawson also fined Finance Minister Bill Morneau $200 for failing to declare a corporation that owns a villa in France.
MacLauchlan’s office wouldn’t comment on the fine — but was happy to talk about the gift.

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Musings From Abroad

Uganda turns to China for $150 million loan after World Bank halts funding

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East African country, Uganda will now seek to borrow $150 million from China’s Export-Import Bank (Exim), following lending restrictions by the World Bank for its anti-homosexuality law.

The action highlights the country’s growing dependence on Chinese lenders after the World Bank’s decision earlier this year stopping all new loans to the country.

Uganda is negotiating a loan to finance the construction of a pipeline to help export its crude oil to foreign markets with the Chinese export credit organisations SINOSURE and Exim Bank.

The money, the finance ministry says, is “to finance the supply, installation, commissioning, and support of the national data transmission backbone infrastructure.”

A law prohibiting LGBTQ was passed by the Ugandan legislature in May. Several stringent regulations were incorporated into the legislation, which drew strong criticism from the international community, including the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and major corporations like the World Bank.

Before lending to Uganda was suspended by the World Bank, it was the country’s largest development partner.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act imposes severe penalties, including death, for a variety of homosexual offences.

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Musings From Abroad

Russia’s free grain to hit 6 African countries this week

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Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promise to send free grain to six African countries in July, Russian shipments of donated grain are due to begin landing in Africa within days.

The supply will give fresh impetus to Russia’s bid to bolster its influence on the continent after criticism over its invasion of Ukraine and withdrawal from a deal that facilitated the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea linked to pushing up global food and fertilizer prices.

The Russian Agriculture Ministry stated earlier this month that the shipments would amount to 200,000 metric tonnes by the end of the year, with Somalia and Burkina Faso scheduled to be the initial recipients. According to Putin’s July statement, Zimbabwe, Mali, Eritrea, and the Central African Republic are also expected to receive between 25,000 and 50,000 metric tonnes of grain each.

Two of the top exporters of grain and vegetable oil worldwide are Russia and Ukraine. Russia’s bombardment of Ukrainian ports and stores has affected the world’s supply of both commodities during the war. Russia in July also quit a year-old agreement that had allowed Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports, which, according to a study by a South African agency, helped feed about 95 million people but fell short in ensuring that fertilizer-originating from Russia could flow freely to global markets. Had that happened, food could have been produced to feed about 199 million people.

However, Putin, in order to fulfil what he claimed was Moscow’s crucial role in ensuring global food security, stated that Russia was prepared to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa on both a commercial and assistance basis.

While most African countries have adopted a non-aligned posture in the war, Russia’s influence in the continent has been on the rise lately, particularly with regard to defence relations.

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