Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Opinions

Media Credit: The Execution of Maximillian by Manet With topics like capital punishment, you'd think the government couldn't miss (much like these infantrymen). We were wrong.

The Conservative federal government has given us another glimpse of its true colours this past week, with two shocking announcements related to Canada's commitment to abolishing capital punishment worldwide.

Last week, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced that Canada would no longer attempt to save Canadians in line to receive the death penalty abroad. This policy will apply to Canadians who were put on trial in the United States or in any other democratic nations.

A week later, another right-wing bombshell was dropped: Canada would withdraw its sponsorship from a United Nations anti-death-penalty resolution.

Canada will vote for the resolution, but has declined from being a co-sponsor with seventy four other countries, including Britain, Australia, and France.

This brings an end to Canada's admirable tradition of being a co-sponsor on every UN anti-capital punishment resolution in the past decade.

By neglecting to prevent the execution of Canadian citizens abroad, the Conservative government is hinting at their true leanings in the capital punishment debate. If the government truly felt that it was morally wrong to take the life of another human being, even someone convicted of a particularly terrible crime, they would not feel comfortable letting their citizens be subjected to this brutal and degrading practice under any circumstances.

The obvious inference to be made is that the federal Conservatives have pro-capital punishment leanings, but are wary of making them known to the Canadian public, a socially progressive bunch in general.

According to Amnesty International Canada, our country will now be the only nation to have abolished capital punishment which does not work to prevent the execution of its citizens abroad.

This is not only tremendously embarrassing, but completely contrasts the national image we have prided ourselves on for so long. Canada has gained the international reputation of being a country with a strong commitment to social justice and basic human rights.

Will the Harper government's new policies begin to degrade this admirable status?

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