Harper accepts gift of fancy cowboy boots from BushUpdated Fri. Oct. 3 2008 5:47 PM ET The Canadian Press OTTAWA -- Fancy cowboy boots from George W. Bush are among at least $20,000 of gifts Prime Minister Stephen Harper has accepted since taking office. The U.S. president gave Harper the boots, embossed with American and Canadian flags and Harper's initials, at a summit with the Mexican president last April, according to a list of gifts filed last month with the federal ethics commissioner. Bush also gave Harper a leather-bound volume of inaugural speeches by every American president, from George Washington to George W. That gift came during the president's final summit with other G8 leaders last July. In the report to ethics commissioner Mary Dawson, Harper describes the hand-crafted footwear as a "custom-made pair of leather cowboy boots with flags of the U.S. and Canada and my initials, from George W. Bush, President of the United States of America." The boots and book are among a host of presents Harper should have declared much earlier than he did. Under the Conflict of Interest Act, which Harper introduced after the 2006 election, the prime minister and cabinet ministers must declare gifts valued at more than $200 within 30 days of receipt. The report of gifts including the boots is dated Aug. 11, while the book was reported in a declaration dated Sept. 3. The dates for receiving the gifts go back to March, which means the filings should have been made much earlier. By law, Harper, his ministers and other public office holders must also hand over to the government all gifts valued at more than $1,000. Many of the 110 gifts Harper and his wife Laureen have declared since February 2006 are likely well over $200 in value. Harper received 96 gifts, including five for both him and Lauren, while Laureen received 14. In July, Harper received three Hermes designer silk ties from French Prime Minister Francois Fillon. Laureen Harper received a set of three hand-forged designer Hermes garden tools from Fillon's spouse. Harper received an entire box of Italian silk ties in May from Silvio Berlusconi, the president of Italy. Laura Bush, the president's wife, gave Laureen Harper a "glass and copper box with vintage White House images" at the G8 Tokyo summit. Both Harper and his wife received Eco-Drive Citizen watches from the president of Citizen Watch Co. Ltd. at the summit. The watches are valued at up to $975 for a titanium version. One of the most unusual gifts cited was from Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, who gave Harper a BlackBerry 8800 hand-held messaging device. Some of the gifts in Harper's August declaration were received in November and December 2007, but had not been included in his February 2008 declaration. They included the BlackBerry, a China drink set with the Russian crest from Victor Zubkov, the former prime minister of the Russian Federation, two cases of Algerian wine and cases of fresh dates from Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the president of Algeria, and a red leather chest with drawers full of fresh dates from the president of Tunisia. An official with the ethics commissioner's office declined to explain the delay in Harper's gift declarations, citing privacy. "The confidentiality provisions of the act to not allow us to comment on a particular case," said Jocelyne Brisebois, communications officer for the commissioner. "We recognize that some public office holders may not have met their deadlines," she said in an email. "We are looking into the reasons for this and are addressing it as a priority in a variety of ways, including reminding them of their obligations and simplifying the reporting procedures."
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