Some Canadians wonder what influence the World Economic Forum has on our government, and a viral video on social media has only inflamed suspicions.
The WEF was founded by Klaus Schwab in 1971 as a non-profit foundation in Switzerland. According to its website, “The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.” The organization is pushing for “the great reset” and a pseudo socialist “build back better” agenda both of which envision a strong, centralized role for government in shaping the economic and social lives of everyday citizens.
All this combined with the impressive who’s who with WEF ties have left some citizens wondering whether Canadian politicians with WEF ties are more swayed by the domestic interests of constituents or the “global agendas” of Schwab and associates.
In a videoed discussion held September 20, 2017, Klaus told the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, “We penetrate the cabinets. So yesterday I was at a reception for Prime Minister Trudeau and I will know that half of this cabinet or even more…are from our young global leaders.”
This video segment went viral recently, despite four years passing since, due to the inquiry of a constituent in Oshawa, Ontario who asked MP Colin Carrie to look into it.
“I have a constituent who wanted me to ask a question about outside interference in our democracy,” Carrie told the House of Commons on February 19, before paraphrasing Schwab’s comments. “In the name of transparency, could the member please name which cabinet ministers are on board with the WEF’s agenda? My concern is the–”
Deputy Speaker Chris d’Entremont interjected, “Order. The member was in a really good question there, but the audio and the video are really bad. I apologize. Let us try again.”
Then NDP MP Charlie Angus rose on a point of order. “That member was openly promoting disinformation. That is not debate. We have to call out disinformation.”
Actually, it was the opportunity for a reasonable question to get a legitimate answer. Instead, the exchange probably left the nameless Oshawa constituent more suspicious than ever.
There’s enough information in the public domain to know Schwab’s claim was not an empty one. Nor is the phenomenon purely Liberal. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and former Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer were also designated WEF Young Global Leaders.
Recently, Calgary Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner wrote a column how significant (or not) her YGL designation was. She says she was informed of being named a YGL by email in 2016 and thought it was spam at first. Garner attended a YGL meeting in 2017, the annual Davos meeting in 2018, and a subsequent gathering in New York. Her impression? “The WEF is certainly elitist, but, to my eyes, it fell far short of being a cabal bent on global domination.”
Very well, but by its own admission, the WEF is also an organization identifying, conscripting, and gathering global leaders to “shape global, regional, and industry agendas” with a “great reset.” Chrystia Freeland, named a WEF “Global Leader of Tomorrow” in 2000, has since become the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Yet, she currently sits on the WEF Board of Trustees.
It’s not misinformation to ask a question, but speculation always occurs in the absence of answers. When Question Period fails to become Answer Period, that’s all Canadians have.
Lee Harding is Research Associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
