Gordon Prentice at Large - Politics in Newmarket
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
An opinion piece in the Globe and Mail this morning tells me that money – not missiles – will lead to Putin’s undoing. 
I hope so.
But money has a way of talking.
The UK has long been a haven for super-rich Russian kleptocrats. They see the UK as a safe berth for their wealth with highly-skilled, world class enablers on tap – the lawyers, accountants and other professionals who grease the wheels and make it all happen.
Awash with cash
The BBC reports that the UK is “thought to be awash” with Russian cash looted from the former Soviet Union
The UK has had a publicly available register of beneficial ownership for companies since 2016. Now this will be complemented with a new public register showing the “ultimate owners of properties across the UK”.
It will be retrospective, going back twenty years.
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill will bring in a new Register of Overseas Entities which will require anonymous foreign owners of UK property “to reveal their real identities to help address risks of money laundering through the property market”. The legislation will also reform the Unexplained Wealth Order powers.
London "a laundromat for corrupt money"
Research from the UK House of Commons Library says
“The precise scale of economic crime in the UK is unknown, but it could run to tens or hundreds of billions of pounds per year. The extent of these crimes – which include money laundering, fraud and corruption – led the Intelligence and Security Select Committee in its July 2020 report on Russia to note that London is considered a ‘laundromat’ for corrupt money.”
Tragically, it took the Russian invasion of Ukraine to persuade Boris Johnston to take action against the oligarchs – many of whom are generous donors to the Conservative Party.
We wait to see if he delivers.
Update on 4 March 2022: From the Guardian: Why does the UK seem so slow to target Russia's oligarchs?
See also: Changes coming on Corporate Transparency and Register Reform. And the impact assessment.
Below: Photo taken in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg in 2019. Our Russian guide pointed to it and laughed: "The dog is just like Putin! Same face!"
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
Newmarket’s planners are recommending “approval in principle” for the new Clock Tower development in the heart of the historic downtown. 
Councillors will be getting a presentation at 9.30am on Monday (28 February) from the owners who will be setting out their stall, explaining how their boutique hotel will work in practice.
The Clock Tower “minor variance” application was approved by the Committee of Adjustment on 26 January 2022 although most people would consider the proposal to be anything other than minor.
I am disappointed to lose the long distance view of the Clock Tower from Park Avenue (from beyond the library) but what is more important – the long distance view of the Clock Tower from one angle or getting the building repurposed and back into use asap? We should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
The imperative is to get the old Clock Tower back into business as a functioning building, breathing new life into the historic downtown.
Parking
Of course, this won’t be easy or straightforward. The Committee of Adjustment has concerns about the adequacy of the parking provisions, particularly overnight parking. I can easily imagine the library spaces being poached by people going to functions at the new hotel.
Unusually, the Town’s engineers have not commented on parking issues, deferring to the planners who, in turn, have contracted the work to an outside planner. I am told the in-house planners are overstretched and busy with other planning applications. But passing the buck like this sometimes happens when the in-house planners are asked to do something they don’t want to do.
Clearly, the Town is fast-tracking this development.
But after a decade in the doldrums, why not?
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- Written by: Gordon Prentice
Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier today is very big news in Canada. 
The 2016 census showed 1,359,655 people (3.8%) out of Canada's then population of 35,151,728 claimed Ukrainian ethnic/cultural origin. (The 2021 census tables for ethnography and immigration will be released later this year.)
622,445 (1.7%) claimed Russian ethnic origin.
Here in Newmarket 2,950 people (3.5%) claimed Ukrainian ethnic origin and 2,840 (3.3%) Russian out of the then population of 84,224.
Almost 7% of the Town's population say their origins are in either Ukraine or Russia so what is happening over there is of huge significance.
Ukraine is a big country with 44 million people.
Complete madness
The invasion is, of course, complete madness and is totally unjustified. President Putin's assertion that Russia is acting in self-defense is risible. For over three months Russia has been deploying the military along its borders with Ukraine, waiting for the order to strike.
And then, a few days ago, Putin recognised the “independence” of two republics in eastern Ukraine and sent in “peacekeeping” forces.
The former U.S. President, the ludicrous Donald Trump, says this was an act of genius.
Now, unbelievably, we are witnessing a full-scale land war in Europe.
There is, of course, no question of a military response by the West. But sanctions that really bite will make a huge difference; damaging the Russian economy, separating Putin’s inner circle from their foreign bank accounts and giving encouragement to Putin's domestic opposition.
Canada has condemned the Russian invasion. I am pretty sure the sanctions that follow will be the toughest on record.
They must be.
Update at 1.25pm: Canada expands sanctions
Update on 25 February 2022: From the Guardian: How we defeat Putin and the Petrostate autocrats
