Isiah 2:4
Harper government says there is no need to sign arms control treaty because Canada’s export controls are the strongest
Stephen Harper has refused to sign or ratify global Arms Trade Treaty, brokered through the United Nations in a lengthy process, came into effect this Christmas Eve, 2014, 90 days after the 50th nation had ratified it.
Most arms come from rich industrial nations like Canada and the US and go to poor countries with undemocratic governments.
On the same day the treaty came into force, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird issued a written statement (the only way this government communicates most of the time) rationalizing Canada’s position in two ways.
Baird said:
"Canada already has some of the strongest export controls in the world”, implying we’re very careful who we sell arms to.
Then Baird adds a line that could have come straight out of the National Rifle Association’s PR handbook:
“It is important that such a treaty should not affect lawful and responsible firearms owners nor discourage the transfer of firearms for recreational uses such as sport shooting and hunting.”
In other words, make sure limiting sales of weapons from industrial nations, used for slaughtering of millions around the world, or used to prop up despotic regimes, does not interfere with a Canadian hunter’s right to own a rifle.
Quite apart from the absurdity of the comparison – how does a rifle in the hands of a Canadian target shooter compare to an armoured vehicle driven by an ISIS combatant? – there isn’t a shred of evidence that the Arms Trade Treaty has any effect on gun owners in Canada, period.
Sources:
Stephen Harper position on global Arms Trade Treaty reads like a page out of NRA handbook
Oped: Canada's strange inaction on the Arms Trade Treaty
Harper government says there is no need to sign arms control treaty because Canada’s export controls are the strongest
