Daily BrewCanadian diplomats took ‘minimal role’ in UN debate on illegal gun trade
Is it any wonder Canada’s reputation is taking a shellacking when we are sending diplomats off to international conferences with the order that they should be seen and not heard?
Postmedia News reports that Canadian diplomats who participated in a UN discussion on the illicit trade of small arms and ammunition were told the "play a low-key, minimal role" in the debate.
There's leadership for you. Find a seat in the back and try to keep your head down.
The newsgroup said the diplomats were told their main objective was to safeguard Canadian gun owners' rights on the international stage.
According to a briefing note sent to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, it was outlined that Canada's delegation would also endure "Canada does not enter into any new commitments that are inconsistent with its domestic laws and regulations on firearms."
It went on to note that Canada's intention not to sign on to anything was likely to prompt a backlash from traditional friends and allies.
In a quick digression, it seems like a bizarre tact to take at a conference specifically focused on how to approach illegal gun trafficking and not legal gun ownership.
But surely they had their reasons. For one, rural gun owners are the Conservative party’s bread and butter, and a slip on the international stage could have erased some of the progress they were seen making by erasing the long-gun registry.
[ Yahoo! Exclusive: Canada’s gun owners shouldn’t need licenses: NFA ]
Kenneth Epps of the anti-gun group Project Ploughshares told Postmedia that the objective shows a distinct lack of vision.
To be narrowly focused on the domestic concerns of a minority of Canadians at a time when there are millions of people around the world affected by armed violence is clearly not what most Canadians want the Canadian government to be doing.
Still, the stance is likely to go over gangbusters with Canadian firearms owners. Sheldon Clare, president of Canada’s National Firearms Association, told Yahoo! Canada News last month that the country’s gun control measures go too far, lumping the current Conservative government in with the “successive, oppressive firearms control regimens” that have been in power for decades.
So they've got some work to do there.
So what if Canada hides under the table at a UN conference about illegal guns, as long as they don’t appear to be hindering gun ownership at home?
After all, Canada’s international reputation has taken a nosedive under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but it hasn’t had an impact on his fortunes at home. Why stop now?
