Conservatives abdicate Canada's International obligations

The Conservatives quietly abdicated their international responsibilities by dropping out of the UN convention to combat drought. It is bad enough that they have turned their backs on the environment but now they bow out of the convention like cowards.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/canada-quietly-pulls-un-convention-combat-drought-desertification-183238714.html

"Whether you like it or not, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government is reshaping Canada's relationship with the rest of the world.

From last year's withdrawal from the admittedly ineffectual Kyoto Protocol on climate change — which as CBC News noted will save the government $14 billion in penalties for missing its targets — to the disappearance of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as a stand-alone body, Ottawa seems to be abandoning the multilateralist approach that dominated its post-war foreign policy."

The money that Canada had contributed to the convention between 2010 and 2012 was $283,000 or the equivalent of a tightwad giving their grandchild 25 cents to spend at the corner store.... it buys nothing in today's World.

Baird suggested Ottawa defunded the round table because the government did not want to pay for advice that didn't jibe with its policies, CP said.

The Tories are also under fire for preventing government scientists from discussing their work publicly, and for shutting down the Experimental Lakes Area in northern Ontario, which scientists see as vital window onto the impact of global environmental threats.

Withdrawing from the UN convention on desertification “shows … that the government is clearly outside of what is international norms here," NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar told CP. "We’re increasing our isolation by doing this.”

To compound this neglect of mankind's need for survival the Conservatives, in linking Foreign Affairs and CIDA, are making International Aid and commercial interests a priority over World needs. Your tax dollar will be used to further industry internationally.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/international-aid-serve-canadas-commercial-interests-090353909.html