The managing director of the World Economic Forum said Canadian politicians have more important things to worry about than what his organization is up to, especially since the conspiracy theories surrounding it are 'antisemitic.'."Canada should be talking about a lot of things right now. It shouldn't really be talking about the World Economic Forum (WEF) based here in Geneva," Adrian Monck told CBC Radio. "You know, there are bigger issues, really, for it to be thinking about.".Monck said the Great Reset "conspiracy theory" morphed out of an 2016 opinion piece on the WEF's website titled, Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better. According to Monck, the article was merely intended to be a discussion about "some of the pros and cons of the current technological development." .The conspiracy theory, which claims that a cabal of shadowy global elites are planning to destroy the global economy to make way for an authoritarian world government, became more well-known after WEF founder and chairman Klaus Schwab wrote a book called COVID-19: The Great Reset.."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," Monck said..Monck said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the WEF felt it was being targeted by state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. He claimed the 'Great Reset' conspiracy theory is similar to the 'New World Order' one, which is antisemitic. ."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 claimed conspiracy theories about the 'Great Reset' are being driven by disinformation agents, and politicians need to have a "very hard look in the mirror" before spreading 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.".Monck added that Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre has chosen to paint the WEF in a "confusing" light. "We're not an advocate on behalf of any particular political viewpoint. We try and remain impartial and neutral," Monck said..Last week, Poilievre told a crowd of supporters that he would ban cabinet ministers from attending WEF meetings if elected prime minister. Poilievre issued a statement to CBC News claiming the annual WEF meeting in Davos is a "hypocritical gathering of billionaires, multinationals and powerful politicians."."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."
