Waterloo Region Record

PM pledges $50M to fight famine fallout from invasion

Funding will help prevent waste of Ukrainian grain

LAURA OSMAN

SCHLOSS ELMAU, GERMANY Canada pledged $50 million to prevent Ukrainian grain from going to waste on Sunday as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to work with G7 nations on further measures to halt the famine caused by the Russian invasion of the embattled country.

The fallout of the ongoing Russian offensive dominated the first day of talks among leaders of the world’s most developed economies, who are gathered in Germany for three days worth of meetings.

Issues related to the invasion were the primary subject of a four-day summit among Commonwealth government leaders that wrapped up on Saturday in Kigali, Rwanda, and are expected to drive the agenda at the upcoming NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, set to get underway on Wednesday.

A global grain shortage is currently threatening huge swaths of Africa with famine. Trudeau and other G7 leaders have pointed the blame squarely at Russia for targeting grain silos in Ukraine for attack and limiting exports by blocking major ports in the country.

The leaders’ first session on Sunday focused on the global economy at a time when conflict and unrest are driving up prices and access to key goods around the world.

Canada promised to ship grain storage equipment to Ukraine so it can store this year’s harvest and hopefully get it to market.

That would include mobile silos, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said in an interview from Canada.

Other food storage has been impacted as well. Last week, in the Ukrainian port Mykolaiv, a vegetable oil storage facility owned by a Canadian-Dutch company, Viterra, was hit by a Russian missile strike.

“The Everi terminal handles vegetable oil used for 100 per cent human food consumption,” said Jeff Cockwill, a Viterra spokesperson based in Regina.

“Fortunately there were no fatalities, and we have confirmed one employee has suffered minor burns and has received medical attention.

Meanwhile, Canada hopes to have 44 per cent more wheat production compared to last year, Bibeau said, noting the spike will boost supplies to the developing world as well as countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa relying on Ukrainian grain.

Bibeau said the government and Canada’s grain producers are “all hands on deck” to get as much grain to developing nations facing hunger as possible.

The prime minister arrived in Germany early Sunday morning. He was greeted at the airport in Munich by a musical welcome party, including former Liberal leader and Canadian Ambassador to Germany Stéphane Dion.

CANADA & WORLD

en-ca

2022-06-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://waterloorecord.pressreader.com/article/281603834151683

Toronto Star Newspapers Limited