Stephen Harper position on global Arms Trade Treaty reads like a page out of NRA handbook

The 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.

Canada has refused to sign or ratify this landmark agreement, which will begin to stem the vast tide of armaments, from pistols to rocket launchers to tanks, which sweeps over the world every day.

Most arms come from rich industrial nations like Canada and the US and go to poor countries with undemocratic governments.

Arms Trade Treaty: Canada's John Baird Warned About Signing Landmark UN Arms Deal

OTTAWA - Canada's recreational firearms lobby is telling the Harper government to avoid signing a landmark United Nations arms trade treaty, arguing it could lead to an insidious return of the federal long-gun registry.

That's the message Canada's National Firearms Association and the Canadian Shooting Sports Association are delivering to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird as he weighs whether Canada should follow the United States in signing the Arms Trade Treaty, which aims to regulate the multibillion dollar global arms trade.

Conservative snub to UN arms treaty shames Canada

Last year more than 100,000 people were killed in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Burma and other major hot spots where factional fighting was fuelled by a relentless flow of illicit weapons. That’s why Canada’s key allies see the value of the United Nations’ latest bid to curb the global arms trade and tamp down at least some of the violence.

More than 65 countries including Britain and France, both big arms dealers, signed on to a landmark Arms Trade Treaty this week that aims to better regulate the $60-billion-plus global arms market. The Americans, too, have made it clear they are onside, subject to the approval of Congress.

John Baird Says Canada Not Among 60 Nations Signing Landmark Arms Treaty

OTTAWA - Canada isn't saying whether it will join more than 60 other countries in signing a landmark treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade.

The federal government hasn't decided whether it agrees with the UN's arms trade treaty, despite having voted to move it ahead in the first place, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Monday.

"We believe that any treaty regarding the sale of munitions that helps move the international community closer to world-leading standards is a good thing," Baird said during question period.