Close interactions between Canadian cabinet ministers and the World
Economic Forum are well-documented, but a newly revealed letter suggests forum
staff may have been doing more work with the federal government than previously
disclosed.
In an undated letter to a WEF official, former Finance Minister Bill
Morneau praised the organization and its collaboration to achieve “common”
objectives.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere
appreciation to the WEF staff, for the support provided to the Government of
Canada,” wrote Mr. Morneau in the letter obtained through the
access-to-information regime.
Neither the WEF nor the Canadian government typically advertise what
support the forum provides. The finance department has not replied to a request
for information about the date of the letter and details of how WEF staff
helped the government.
The letter was addressed to Philipp Rösler, a former German politician
who served as a WEF manager and head of its Centre for Regional Strategies.
The federal government is known to have been involved in at least two WEF policy initiatives: the Known Traveller Digital Identification (KTDI) project and the Agile Nations network.
KTDI was a pilot project between Canada, the Netherlands, and private
sector interests to develop a system of digital credentials for airplane travel
between countries. Agile Nations is a group of countries working to streamline
regulations to usher in the WEF-promoted “Fourth Industrial Revolution” that
includes gene editing and artificial intelligence.
KTDI began in 2018, and Canada
signed onto Agile Nations in November 2020, a
few months after Mr. Morneau resigned during the WeCharity scandal. Both
projects were worked on while Mr. Morneau was finance minister from 2015 to
2020.
Since both these projects fell outside of Mr. Morneau’s portfolio as
finance minister, it seems to suggest that his letter of appreciation to the
WEF was referring to other joint collaborations.
The WEF’s mission statement says it is dedicated to “improving the state
of the world.” It gathers leaders in the fields of politics, business, and
activism to promote progressive policies on issues like climate change and
making capitalism more “inclusive.” As is routine with the organization, it did
not respond to requests for comment.
Critics of the WEF, which gathers world elites to shape global policies,
often disagree with its progressive agenda and warn about its influence on
countries.
“No staff, no ministers, no MPs in my caucus will be involved whatsoever
in that organization,” Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said in January. He added that
officials who attend the forum’s annual meeting in Davos are “high flying, high
tax, high carbon hypocrites” who travel in private jets while telling average
citizens not to “heat their homes or drive their pickup trucks.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has also criticized the WEF, saying in 2022
she finds it “distasteful when billionaires brag about how much control they
have over political leaders, as the head of that organization has.”
Ms. Smith was likely referring to comments made by WEF founder and chairman Klaus Schwab
in 2017, when he said said he was “very proud” to “penetrate the cabinets” of
world governments, including that of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I know that half of his cabinet or even more than half of his cabinet
are actually Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum,” Mr. Schwab told
an audience at Harvard University.
WEF founder Klaus Schwab delivers a speech during the "Crystal
Award" ceremony at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, on
Jan. 16, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
Davos Links
Mr. Morneau’s letter to the WEF comes from internal Finance Department
records and is the only document in the release package that pertains to Mr.
Morneau. It consists mostly of praise for the organization.
“As a Steward of Economic Growth and Social Inclusion, I have had the
privilege of observing first-hand and benefiting from the WEF’s important
contributions to foster public and private collaboration towards developing
concrete solutions for strong, broad-based economic growth,” he wrote, adding
that WEF analysis of different topics such as “structural reform priorities”
was “helpful to develop substantive policy measures.”
He wrote that “as we enter another ambitious year for the WEF, I look
forward to a continued fruitful collaboration to pursue our common objective of
achieving stronger, sustainable and more inclusive growth.”
Other department records relate to current Finance Minister Chrystia
Freeland and her involvement with the WEF. She is a board member of the forum
and also an alumnus of the Young Global Leaders program that Mr. Schwab
referenced.
Mr. Morneau, who resigned as minister in 2020, is listed on the WEF
website as an “agenda contributor“ and a ”digital member.” He was a regular participant at the group’s annual
meetings in Davos, Switzerland, while he was in office.
During those years, the Finance Department’s media relations office
wasn’t shy about advertising ministerial trips to Davos.
“Canada’s strong presence at the Forum underscores the importance of
this meeting for shaping the international agenda and advancing economic
opportunities for Canadians,” read a January 2020 press release from the department
announcing Mr. Morneau’s trip.
The Finance Department has not returned inquiries in recent
years pertaining to Ms. Freeland’s involvement with the WEF, nor has it issued
press releases referencing her involvement.
Some have questioned whether Ms. Freeland’s role as deputy prime
minister and finance minister as well as a forum board member constitutes a
conflict of interest. The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics
Commissioner said in its 2022 annual report it
received more than 1,000 requests in a two-month period from members of the
public to investigate the participation of MPs and ministers in the WEF.
The office said the requests “did not provide sufficient information to
warrant an investigation.” Ms. Freeland’s leadership position with the WEF has
been declared to the office and has
therefore been cleared.