Former Liberal cabinet minister praises WEF in cryptic letter
Former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau praised the World Economic Forum (WEF) in an undated letter for its collaboration on "common" objectives.
The letter, addressed to Philipp Rösler, a former German politician with direct ties WEF to its Centre for Regional Strategies, thanked him for supporting Canada.
"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," reads the letter, obtained through an access-to-information request.
The Trudeau Liberals are actively involved in at least two WEF initiatives, including the Known Traveller Digital Identification (KTDI) project and the Agile Nations network.
KTDI seeks to develop a digital credential system for international travel by plane, whereas Agile Nations proposes a foundation for the "Fourth Industrial Revolution," which includes gene editing and artificial intelligence.
Canada joined the latter in November 2020, a few months after Morneau resigned as finance minister and MP.
As both projects fell outside the finance ministry’s mandate, Morneau’s letter appears to reference other joint collaborations.
The Department of Finance did not divulge what capacity the WEF aided the government or when Morneau penned the letter.
According to the Forum’s mission statement, the international body is dedicated to "improving the state of the world" by making capitalism more "inclusive."
Entrepreneurs, activists and politicians gather annually in Davos, Switzerland to promote progressive policies on issues like climate change and renewable energy.
This is a developing story.