Canada's admirable contribution to combatting desertification

When Canada recently announced its withdrawal from the UN Convention on Combatting Desertification (UNCCD), professional do-gooders and political partisans began howling with righteous outrage.  For example:

Elizabeth May (tweeted): "So upset Harper pulled us out of another global env treaty. He's making us a rogue nation. The North Korea of environmental law."

Toronto Star: "... The Harper government’s latest nose-thumbing at the UN is a baffling move that lacks any obvious political advantage to balance out the sizeable blows it inflicts on the government’s domestic and international credibility. ..."

Craig and Marc Kielburger: "... walking away accomplishes nothing."

Oh, COME ON! Cut the hyperbole!  With all due respect to the Kielburgers, rather than "accomplish nothing" Canada announcing its withdrawal has had at least two very beneficial effects: 

(1) Until then, no one, least of all the above complainers, had ever even heard of the UNCCD.  Now it's their cause célèbre.

(2) Canada has, once again, drawn attention to the wasteful uselessness of the UN.  Most UN activities, UNCCD included are, at best, unproductive talk-fests that use UN conventions as an excuse for over-paid bureaucrats to regularly gather in five star hotels in exotic locales.

This can only boost real action towards combatting desertification and reforming the UN, something you'd expect the Lizzy Mays, the T-Stars and the Kielburgers would be applauding rather than bitching about.