Conservative Member of Parliament Leslyn Lewis speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on February 16, 2022. (Screenshot from ParlVu)
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Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis commented on Jan. 28 on the information she helped surface about Canada’s involvement in a World Economic Forum (WEF) project seeking to streamline federal regulations, saying it represents a “radical policy shift” from the current governance model.
“First of all, how did Canada become a member state and who recognize this as necessary?” Lewis asked in a video posted on YouTube.
“I don’t even remember this issue being brought up in Parliament, although this is like a radical change in the way that we conceive policy in this country.”
Lewis, a contender in her party’s last two leadership races and currently infrastructure critic, is alluding to the Liberal government signing on to the Agile Nations Charter in November 2020.
The Agile Nations network is an initiative of the WEF and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Other countries involved include Denmark, Italy, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
Details about Canada’s participation were obtained by Lewis by submitting an order paper with the government, with the lead department Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) providing a response on Dec. 7.
The Inquiry of Ministry filed by the TBS indicates the goal of the Agile Nations is to herald the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” promoted by the WEF, which entails streamlining countries’ regulations to facilitate the proliferation of new technologies like gene editing and artificial intelligence.
“If we’re concluding that our government structure needs to be modernized, then the Liberal government should have respect for Canadians and our existing parliamentary system and have a rigorous debate in Parliament,” Lewis says.
This was not the first order paper filed by Lewis on Canada’s participation in WEF projects, having previously revealed details on the Known Traveller Digital Identity (KTDI) initiative.
Lewis told viewers she filed those questions with the government after being called a “conspiracy theorist” for noting the issue during the last leadership race.
She said others had also raised with her the issue of being “mocked and belittled by government” when speaking about WEF-related matters.
“The media labeled and demonized every Canadian that had the insight to ask questions about our government secretive arrangements with the WEF,” she said.
Lewis says the government signed the Agile Nations Charter while Canadians’ could not enjoy their own Charter of Rights and Freedoms due to being locked down, and that corporations were consulted on a post-pandemic governance structure whereas Canadians were not.
Lewis was alluding to several multinationals taking part in Agile Nations discussions, such as Facebook, IBM, and Siemens.
The WEF held its annual meeting in Davos in mid-January and ministers Chrystia Freeland and Mary Ng attended and participated in panel discussions.
Several federal departments avoided commenting to The Epoch Times on Canada’s delegation and objectives at the forum.
Freeland has held a seat on the WEF board of trustees since 2019. Her involvement has been cleared by the ethics commissioner.