Canada has decided it won’t sign onto a landmark international treaty to regulate the arms trade.

The Harper government is holding off because of concerns about how it will affect gun owners.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is in New York at the United Nations General Assembly. He says Ottawa has promised consultations before signing the accord, and those consultations are still in the early stages.

The US signed the Arms Trade Treaty yesterday, despite strong objections from its powerful gun lobby. Baird suggests the Obama administration may have a tough time getting the treaty past that country’s Senate.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is no fan of the United Nations. For the third year in a row, he has elected not to address the General Assembly. Instead, he is holding bilateral meetings on the sidelines on issues such as maternal health.