There used to be a billboard along the I-15 between Salt Lake City and Provo that said, "Get the U.S. out of the UN" for many years, and while the billboard is gone, the sentiment remains as strong as ever, and not just in Utah.

But reading such a thing in a Canadian paper? Unheard of, at least until today.

Ezra Levant writes a persuasive piece in the Calgary Sun, that Canada is perhaps just embarrassing itself by maintaining its long relationship with the UN, and should considering getting out altogether.

We know what Hezbollah terrorists thought of the UN outpost -- they thought of it as a perfect place to hide behind during their fight with the Israelis. As a Canadian soldier in the bunker wrote in an e-mail, Israel had to shoot near them for "tactical" reasons. Hezbollah was using the UN as human shields.

Sometimes the UN is even worse. In 2000, Hezbollah terrorists also kidnapped Israeli soldiers. UN video cameras caught the whole thing on tape, but UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan refused to turn the tapes over to the Israelis. A UN soldier stationed there later claimed the reason the UN didn't turn over the tape is because four other UN troops actually assisted in the kidnapping -- Indian troops, bribed by Hezbollah.

It wouldn't be the first time UN troops from dirt-poor countries do awful things while wearing blue helmets.

In Africa, UN troops have engaged in theft, rape and pedophilia. And recent Reuters footage shows a UN ambulance being used as a personnel carrier for Palestinian gunmen.

They know the Israelis will hesitate to shoot at an ambulance and take that as weakness.

Outrageously, Kofi Annan accused Israel of deliberately killing the UN troops in that south Lebanon outpost -- not saying a word about the fact it was used as a hiding place for Hezbollah. Indeed, an investigation into what went wrong on the Israeli side ought to be done. But another investigation ought to be done into Annan and his UN troops, some of whom may be nothing short of the terrorists' allies and camouflage. It's not unthinkable one of the "observers" in that bunker -- a Chinese soldier was among the four dead -- was indeed observing the battle closely.

China is Hezbollah's major arms supplier, through Iran. Most of the Hezbollah rockets are Chinese made.

Is that why the UN post was still "observing" the war even after it started?

Don't expect to get to the bottom of this, though. Annan is the same UN leader who oversaw the Oil-for-Palaces scheme that enriched Saddam Hussein -- and enriched Kofi's own son Kojo. Kofi investigated himself and his son, and -- surprise -- found nothing wrong.

Here's an idea for Harper: Pull Canada out of the UN altogether. It would save money, save Canadian lives, and probably make the world safer.

What would get a shoulder shrug here, is explosive stuff in Canada, where the UN is practically the only international stage a "middle power" can exercise a global influence. Canada was an early enthusiast on the UN, and has long contributed troops for peacekeeping missions, deploying more soldiers--125,000--than any other country in the world. Canada's involvement with UN peace-keeping missions has become part of its national identity. To suggest a reconsideration of the Canadian role, even if only in a newspaper column, signals a remarkable change.

The content of Levant's article suggests the reason--the UN has been relentless in damaging its own reputation and thus tarnishing Canada in the process. The loss of a soldier while engaged in "peace-keeping" duties on the border of Israel and Lebanon, is undoubtedly causing some reflection.