After making a great show of dispatching Lawrence Cannon to Newfoundland to give Colonel Gadhafi what for, the Harper government apparently dispatched Mr. Cannon to Tripoli to smooth over any offence that great show might have resulted in.

Instead of delivering a dressing down to the Libyan leader, Ottawa quietly sent Cannon to Tripoli to smooth things over with his government. Cannon was advised to tell Libya that Canada regretted “any misunderstanding” and had supported its bid to join the World Trade Organization.

He was also told to remind Libya that Canada had supported Gadhafi’s attempt to get a seat on the International Atomic Energy Agency in exchange for Libya’s support of Canada’s UN Security Council bid.

In fairness, this occurred two years before Stephen Harper declared that the country’s purpose was “no longer to please every dictator with a vote at the United Nations.”