DFAIT Gun Grabbers trying to redefine "small arms, light weapons"?

While the definition of small arms and light weapons has had various interpretations, the typical definition has been consistent with the following, from this Department Of Foreign affairs and International Trade website (from 2003, last updated 2005):

Small arms and light weapons have been defined in various ways in various fora, but are understood to include weapons that are designed to military specifications to be used either by an individual or a crew as lethal instruments of combat. It is generally accepted that " small arms and light weapons" include such weapons as fully automatic assault rifles, light and heavy machine guns, grenades and their launchers, small caliber mortars and shoulder fired anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles. Although many kinds of firearms are routinely used by military forces, such as pistols, revolvers, and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, these kinds of weapons are not normally categorized as being small arms and light weapons[emphasis added].

The most recent website from DFAIT, for the UN small arms conference, provides the following definition:

Though there is no universally agreed definition of small arms and light weapons, it is commonly accepted that they include the following:

Small Arms: weapons designed for individual use such as revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, sub-machine guns, assault rifles and light machine guns.[emphasis added]

Light Weapons: weapons designed for use by two or three persons serving as crew, although some may be carried and used by a single person. They include, inter alia, heavy machine guns, hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft guns, portable anti-tank guns, recoilless rifles, portable launchers of anti-tank missile and rocket systems, portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems, and mortars of a calibre of less than 100 millimetres.

The second definition is much more expansive, intentionally, and is consistent with that of NGOs like IANSA, Oxfam international, and others. The intent, of course, it to fold those firearms typically owned and held by civilians into the broader program to control "small arms". The first definition clearly targets those firearms designed and built for a military purpose, while the second includes all handheld firearms.

The first definition comes from a website no longer referenced on the DFAIT website, although it still exists on the server. This change occurred not long before the ramp-up to the conference began. In fact, the policy on conventional weapons no longer is accessible from the DFAIT website - only the conference viewpoint.

Peter Mackay needs to be asked whether the Conservative Party has in fact advanced the stated goals of the previous Liberal government in this arena, or are his department bureaucrats out of control, still setting public policy for Canada based on their own liberal bias.