A senior official with the World Economic Forum says Canada should be talking about more important things than conspiracy theories targeting his organization.
Adrian Monck, managing director of the WEF, also argues that politicians espousing those theories should ask themselves whether they’re spreading disinformation coming from bad actors.
“Canada should be talking about a lot of things right now. It shouldn’t really be talking about the World Economic Forum based here in Geneva,” Monck told CBC Radio’s The House in an interview airing Saturday. “You know, there are bigger issues, really, for it to be thinking about.”
In the course of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the WEF has become a popular target for conspiracy theorists.
It began when an opinion article published in 2016 on the WEF’s website — entitled “Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better” and intended, its author says, as “a discussion about some of the pros and cons of the current technological development” — started getting attention in 2020, after WEF founder and chairman Klaus Schwab wrote his own opinion piece arguing for something he called “the great reset.”
These opinion pieces represent two of a number of diverse viewpoints the WEF commissions and publishes, Monck said.
The “great reset” has since morphed into a conspiracy theory claiming that a cabal of global elites is planning to remake society to eliminate private property and impose an authoritarian global government.
Monck said the “great reset” is really just an idea that grew out of the pandemic, when world governments were pouring billions of dollars into keeping the economy afloat.
“The idea was that we should also try and suggest to people that they think about spending it on the kind of long-term things that would aid climate change combating, that would help jobs re-skilling and all the kinds of bigger, long-term challenges,” he told Catherine Cullen, host of CBC Radio’s The House.
“One of the things our organization tries to do is say to people, ‘Look beyond the one week, three months and think about maybe some of the longer term things you could be doing.’ That was what the great reset was aimed to do back in the summer of 2020.”
Some Conservative MPs have been accused of spreading anti-WEF conspiracy theories. After Conservative MP Colin Carrie told the House of Commons in February that the WEF had “penetrated more than half of Canada’s cabinet,” he was accused of spreading disinformation by the NDP’s Charlie Angus.
Conservative member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
“Concerns about ‘the great reset,’ the World Economic Forum and the apparent plan to turn Canada into a communist state is one of the underlying conspiracy theories that motivated some of the protesters who have participated in the truckers protest recently disbanded in Ottawa,” she wrote. “It is an increasingly mainstream assumption in Conservative circles.”
Monck said that, during the pandemic, the WEF became aware that it was being targeted by state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. He said the false conspiracy theory about the WEF pursuing a ‘new world order’ borrows its structure from old antisemitic claims about a Jewish plan for global domination.
“It really was something that was picked up by some state-sponsored disinformation actors and it took on a life of its own in some geographies,” Monck said.
“Sadly, Canada was one of those places where … there’s a vulnerability to disinformation. It’s an open society. And … that particular strand of disinformation went into the mainstream.”
Monck said conspiracy theories about the “great reset” and the WEF are being driven by disinformation agents and politicians should consider where these theories are coming from before espousing them.
“I admire anyone who makes the decision to devote their lives to public life,” he said. “It’s not an easy road, but I do think politicians of every single stamp need to look very hard at the language that they use and where some of this stuff comes from, and if it’s coming from a space of … disinformation and in particular antisemitism.
“I think they need to have a very hard look at themselves and a very hard look in the mirror.”
We do not prescribe policy: Monck
Monck said the WEF does not prescribe policy but rather acts as a forum for exchanging ideas.
Still, the forum has drawn some strong political criticism.
Last week, Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre told a crowd of applauding supporters that, as prime minister, he would ban cabinet ministers from attending “that big fancy conference of billionaires with the World Economic Forum” and vowed to remove them from cabinet should they attend.
Listen: World Economic Forum’s Adrian Monck speaks to The House:
CBC News: The House15:27World Economic Forum denounces conspiracy theories “poisoning” public debate
Adrian Monck, a managing director at the World Economic Forum, discusses the origins of how his organization has become the target of widespread conspiracy theories.
The WEF hosts a conference in Davos, Switzerland, every January where business leaders and politicians from around the world gather to exchange ideas. Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former prime minister Stephen Harper — who endorsed Poilievre for the Conservative leadership — have attended the conference twice.
When Harper attended the conference in 2012, he gave a speech describing the WEF as “an indispensable part of the global conversation among leaders in politics, business and civil society” and said that “in the face of continuing global economic instability, the opportunity this gathering provides is now more valuable than ever.”
[embedded content]
Monck said Poilievre’s decision to paint the WEF as he has is confusing.
“I don’t know where he differs in his analysis from, say, Stephen Harper,” he said. “We’re not an advocate on behalf of any particular political viewpoint. We try and remain impartial and neutral.
“We don’t stand for big, small, middle-sized governments. We deal with governments of every single stripe … so I don’t really understand where that particular analysis is coming from.”
As Prime Minister, I will ban ministers and other top officials from involvement with the World Economic Forum.<br><br>Become a member so you can vote: <a href=”https://t.co/fSIdr4SUbt”>https://t.co/fSIdr4SUbt</a> <a href=”https://t.co/URjf9i4Ngc”>pic.twitter.com/URjf9i4Ngc</a>
In a statement issued to CBC News, Poilievre said the annual WEF meeting in Davos “is a hypocritical gathering of billionaires, multinationals and powerful politicians” who “lecture working class people to stop buying gasoline.”
“There is no apparent benefit to Canadians in being involved in it. Canadian taxpayers should not need to pay to send government leaders to attend such a meeting,” Poilievre said in the statement. “Rather, ministers should put their full attention to serving everyday people in Canadian communities.”
Danielle Smith, a leading candidate to replace outgoing Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in the United Conservative Party leadership, has also criticized the WEF. She described it as a group of “anti-democratic elites” who have been attacking Alberta for years and want Canadians to “own nothing and be happy.”
EDMONTON – The legendary k.d. lang got the band back together at the Canadian Country Music Association awards show.
Lang teamed up with the Reclines for the first time in 35 years to belt out “Big Boned Gal” from their last album together in 1989.
Clad in a blue and green western-style dress, lang strut across the stage in Edmonton to embody the “big boned gal from southern Alberta.”
The awards show saw Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter and Ontario’s Josh Ross take home hardware for being best female and male artists of the year.
Ross also won entertainer of the year and single of the year for “Trouble.”
Ontario artist Jade Eagleson won album of the year for “Do It Anyway.”
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., won fans’ choice and group of the year.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Ross says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year made the hard work worth it.
Porter won for female artist of the year and top video for “Chasing Tornadoes.”
The female artist win ends the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until now.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
EDMONTON – Ontario country artist Jade Eagleson has won album of the year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Edmonton.
The singer from Bailieboro, Ont., was up for six awards alongside Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter.
Eagleson took home album of the year for “Do It Anyway” and says he’s thankful to his wife and management team for helping him reach the level he’s at.
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., also won fans’ choice and group of the year at the award show, held in Edmonton.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Another Ontario crooner, Josh Ross, has taken home a trio of awards, receiving entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and single of the year.
He says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year makes the hard work worth it.
Porter took home female artist of the year, ending the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until tonight.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
The return of k.d. lang and the Reclines was expected to be a highlight of the show.
The appearance will mark the first time the Alberta songstress has teamed up with the band in 35 years and is tied to lang’s induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
The awards show is back in Alberta’s capital for the first time since 2014. It was held in Hamilton last year and in Calgary in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservatives are promising changes they say will bring more stability to the province’s struggling forest industry.
Leader John Rustad announced his plan for the sector a week before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, saying a Conservative government would do away with stumpage fees paid when timber is harvested and instead put a tax on the final products that are produced.
Rustad said Saturday that under a provincial Conservative government, a small fee may be charged upfront, but the bulk would come at the end of the process, depending on what type of product is created.
He also promised to review how wildfires are managed, as well as streamline the permit process and review what he calls the province’s “uncompetitive cost structure.”
“British Columbia is by far the highest cost producers of any jurisdiction in North America. We need to be able to drive down those costs, so that our forest sector can actually be able to do the reinvestment, to be able to create the jobs and make sure that they’re still there to be able to support our communities,” he said.
The governing New Democrats meanwhile, say eliminating stumpage fees would inflame the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and hurt forestry workers.
In a statement issued by the NDP, Andrew Mercier, the party’s candidate in Langley-Willowbrook, said Rustad failed to support the industry when he was in government under the former BC Liberals.
“Not only will Rustad’s old thinking and recycled ideas fail to deliver, his proposal to eliminate stumpage would inflame the softwood lumber dispute — punishing forestry workers and communities,” Mercier said, accusing Rustad of ignoring the complexity of the challenges facing the industry.
The softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada stretches back decades. In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled duties on softwood lumber.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has said Canada has taken steps to launch two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Rustad said a provincial Conservative government would push hard to get a deal with the United States over the ongoing dispute “whether it’s with the rest of Canada or by itself.”
He said his party’s proposed changes are in the name of bringing “stability” and “hope” to the industry that has seen multiple closures of mills in rural communities over the last several years.
Most recently, Canfor Corp. decided to shutter two northern British Columbia sawmills earlier this month, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed by the end of the year.
According to the United Steelworkers union, Canfor has closed 10 mills in the province since November 2011, including nine in northern B.C.
Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers wood council, said Saturday the idea of changes in favour of taxing the final product has been floated in the past.
He said the finer details of the Conservative plan will be important, but that the system needs to be improved and “new ideas are certainly something I’d be willing to entertain.”
“Something needs to happen, or the industry is just going to bleed and wither away and be a shadow of its former self,” Bromley said.
“Politics aside, if (Rustad) can come up with a policy that enables my members to work, then I would be supportive of that. But then I’m supportive of any government that would come up with policies and fibre for our mills to run. Period.”
When Canfor announced its latest closures, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the sector was a “foundational part” of the province and the current NDP government would work to support both local jobs and wood manufacturing operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024
