WEF’S Digital World: towards a social credit system
This is a continuation of the review of the World Economic Forum’s digital initiatives and their implications. In this column, I discuss Canada’s involvement advancing the WEF’s digital world -- Canada’s commitment with the Agile Nations Charter, Smart Cities, the 15-Minute City, and the eventual implementation of a digital ID and social credit system that will track personal carbon emissions data (amongst other personal information).
Canada is at the forefront of the WEF’s digital initiatives and the many global objectives are being shepherded by WEF Trustee Chrystia Freeland and former WEF Trustee, now United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, Mark Carney. As one of the WEF Chairman Klaus Schwab’s feted national leaders, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has committed the country to a number of WEF’s digital programs, using Canadians in some instances as test cases for the organization’s global designs.
WEF’s Agile Nations Charter
Canada is one of seven countries that signed onto the Agile Nations Charter, established in November 2020, to foster a global collaboration on national environmental regulations and innovative green programs. The member countries of this agreement, which is expressly identified as “not legally binding”, include the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada. It includes the participation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) and the WEF as observers. There are also international corporations that have signed onto the Charter: Facebook, IBM and Siemens. Here is the Charter as found on the Government of Canada website.
The Charter states that the participants recognize that “technological breakthroughs” are “heralding a Fourth Industrial Revolution, powering a wave of innovation and entrepreneurship.” The signatories of the agreement are intent on fast-tracking a new regulatory regime for emerging technologies and developing a cooperative inter-governmental regulatory network.
By way of explanation, “the Fourth Industrial Revolution” is a WEF term that signifies the future period of time when governments command of big data will merge physical, digital and biological worlds. It is the end result of developing and merging all things digital: CBDCs, digital IDs, Internet, Smart Cities, as well as Internet of Things and Internet of Bodies, smart implants, and nanotechnologies that include brain-cloud interfaces. All of this is described in detail in Klaus Schwab’s book, The Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The Agile Nations member countries were to streamline regulations for introducing new technologies. The WEF is suggesting the counties focus on specific technologies, such as gene editing, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and autonomous vehicles. In a foundational document, the WEF states, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution offers the potential to change lives around the world for the better. But to realize this potential, a new approach to governance is needed.” This futuristic vision of governance can be found in the charter members’ instructive toolkit document: Agile Regulation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution – A toolkit for Regulators.
As governments around the world were locking down citizens and their businesses in 2021, the Canadian government officials were working with the Agile Nations member countries on a number of projects. There were no media announcements about the activities, however in October the UK government issued a public document that identified 10 projects that had been initiated. These projects included a regulatory process review, data and communications, green tech, medical devices and treatments, mobility, and professional business services.
Canadians were kept in the dark on these activities until Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis received a response in December 2022 to her written requests for information. Here is the document that the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) provided the MP. Lewis effectively called out the government on its secrecy around signing and participating in the Agile Nations Charter, “In Nov 2020 while Canadians were distracted by COVID, the Liberal govt signed a World Economic Forum-initiated Charter. The Agile Nations Charter will facilitate agile ‘rule-making’ outside of Parliament.”
Lewis contends, rightly so, that the Charter is a “radical policy shift” for Canada and involves exploring many activities that require a full public discussion. The MP observed at the time, “Trudeau still has yet to tell Canadians anything about the Agile Nations Charter that he signed with the World Economic Forum (WEF), but I have continued to play close attention as this fourth industrial revolution gets underway.”
The MP presents her views on the Trudeau Liberals partnerships with the WEF in a short video on digital IDs, produced in June 2023. This is a must-watch video for any Canadian wishing to better understand what is at play with the government’s WEF activities.
In the video, Lewis identifies the seven projects Canada is participating in with the Agile Nations member countries.
Coordinating National Standards
Digital Credentials
Pre-loaded Air Cargo Targeting
Consumer Connected Products
Experimental Approaches
Anticipatory Regulation
Digital Health Software Devices
If it were not for MP Lewis’s efforts, Canadians would have known nothing of the government’s activities.
Furthermore, Canadian media have been silent on the Trudeau government’s participation with WEF digital projects. The only Canadian journalists following the subject were at The Epoch Times. Kudos to newsman Noé Chartier and his articles on the Agile Nations Charter, specifically for his published work here and here and here.
Canada and its Smart Cities Challenge
In the last few years, Canada was also at the forefront of advancing the notion of a “Smart City” – an urban area that maximizes its use of technology to manage the people and activity within. Smart Cities make use of cameras, sensors, and Internet of Things to monitor people.
This is a WEF initiative and the WEF organized the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance in 2019 to collaborate on planning sustainable development and economic growth in the largest cities around the world. The WEF explains the reach of the initiative: “Representing more than 200,000 cities and local governments, companies, start-ups, research institutions and non-profit organizations, the Alliance is leading numerous initiatives in more than 36 pioneer cities around the world focusing on smart city governance through mobility, administration, infrastructure, energy, as well as cultural and creative industries.”
The Canadian government initiated its Smart City program in 2017 – one of the first countries in the world to do so. The government sponsored $50 million in grant money in the first year for projects in Montreal QB, Nunavut NU, Guelph ON, and Bridgewater NS. Here are the projects. In subsequent years the government sponsored more than 100 projects across Canada, everywhere from Tofino BC, to Edmonton AB, to Kitchener ON, to Saguenay QB, to Sydney NS. The department of Infrastructure Canada produced a map of Canada’s Smart City projects. Most recently in 2023 in Sault Ste Marie, Canada’s first community-wide smart grid system was unveiled.
The hundreds of millions of dollars the Trudeau government has spent on implementing the WEF’s Smart City initiative has been met with both concern for personal privacy and criticism for its implementation and the lack of public input. Again, MP Leslyn Lewis has produced a video to make Canadians aware of the privacy and autonomy issues. This is an informative video on Smart Cities and the risks they pose for Canadians.
In an under-reported warning by the Canadian intelligence service, CSIS cautioned the government in 2021 that the technological Smart City measures being developed by municipalities pose a serious risk for the mishandling of personal data. CSIS suggests the Smart City initiative provides the opportunity for the Chinese government to easily harvest sensitive personal data and target diaspora communities.
The Conversation, in this article “Why Canada’s Smart Cities Challenge is missing the mark” is concerned with the government’s use of technology, that it is not accepting the input of local urban planners and community groups. In this CBC radio interview, Canadian urban planner John Lorinc talks with IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed about the issues surrounding Toronto’s Sidewalk Labs, a project that has since been shelved by Google Canada and the government.
The WEF’s Smart City initiative has come under fire internationally as well. Researchers at Igarapé Institute and Oxford Internet Institute have observed the obvious, that “When everyone and everything is connected, the door is open to all kinds of digital threats.” Their well documented policy article alerts the public to the fact that “… “smart” is increasingly a euphemism for surveillance. Cities in at least 56 countries worldwide have deployed surveillance technologies powered by automatic data mining, facial recognition, and other forms of artificial intelligence. Urban surveillance is a multibillion-dollar industry, with Chinese and U.S.-based companies such as Axis, Dahua, Hikvision, Huawei, and ZTE leading the charge.”
Australian Senator Alex Antic has asserted that “smart” is a code word at the WEF for “control.” The Senator is most outspoken on this issue. Also from down under, Maria Zeee pulls no punches in challenging the WEF and the globalists’ 2030 Agenda. FYI – Senator Antic and Zeee have been labelled conspiracy theorists and their arguments have been dismissed by officials at the WEF and by those governments participating in the Smart City initiative.
The 15-Minute City
There is a difference between a Smart City and a 15-Minute City and perhaps the best explanation of that difference is Thomas Buckley’s commentary “Are 15-Minute Cities Smart?”
This is a must-read to appreciate how a Smart City is the technological surveillance of an urban area whereas the 15-Minute City is a planning concept to erase the need for the automobile.
In summary, the 15-Minute City is an urban planning model that aims to have neighbourhoods include all amenities within a short bike or walk. Everything you would need for living should be within a fifteen minute trek: all groceries, schools and daycare, leisure and fitness, entertainment and all amenities like convenience stores, retail shops, and restaurants.
This concept has been around since 2015, created by a French-Colombian urbanist Carlos Moreno, who was focused on urban planning for the city of Paris. In 2020, Moreno was a presenter for TED TALK and he eloquently discussed his idea to eliminate long commutes, noisy streets, and underutilized spaces. He made the argument for a multi-disciplinary urban planning approach that involves transportation, urban design, and urban policy making that highlights public spaces and pedestrian and bike-friendly streets.
In 2021, the WEF picked up the 15-Minute City concept – using the Canadian example of a Toronto suburb – and began to promote it as a means to reduce automobile pollution and carbon emissions. Canadian professor of business Richard Florida co-authored research with MIT professor Carlo Ratti that challenged the urban model to be more equitable for disadvantaged communities and more accessible for all citizens.
In Canada, there are a number of cities that are now experimenting with establishing 15-Minute City neighbourhoods – Montreal QB, Winnipeg MB, and Toronto ON. Edmonton AB is furthest down the road of implementing “District Plans” in their downtown core. In answering its critics, the city makes the statement: “District Plans are intended to move Edmonton towards The City Plan vision of a healthy, urban, climate resilient city where everyone enjoys easy access to amenities and services close to home. The plans aren’t about restricting movement, monitoring people or tracking an individual’s carbon emissions, and nothing will be put in place to do so.”
Still, like the knock against Smart Cities, critics will insist the 15-Minute City is more about control than urban planning. In a documented article “Canada’s 15-Minute City Rebrand: A Nationwide Power Play” Jonathan Harvey presents the concerns for undue surveillance and government overreach.
“… these cities are a gateway to a more sinister form of government control and surveillance. The idea of limiting your movement to a small radius is not just about convenience—it’s about control. Imagine being taxed or fined for leaving your designated “zone.” For anyone who thinks this idea is too out there: Ennis, a town in County Clare, Ireland, has already tested this 15-minute city concept by charging residents who leave their designated zones past their allowed quota. In fact, it's important to note that these 15-minute cities aren't just a Canadian phenomenon—they're popping up all over the Western world.”
Harvey also ties this planning initiative to the WEF’s designs:
“… 15-minute cities are being rolled out as part of the globalist agenda outlined in the UN’s Agenda 2030. While it’s dressed up in the language of sustainability, Agenda 2030 comes with some serious restrictions: limits on air travel, a push towards a plant-based diet with little to no meat, reduced clothing production, and overall limitations on personal freedoms. By confining you to a small area and monitoring your every move, the government can easily enforce these draconian measures.”
Harvey’s assessment of the downside of 15-Minute Cities is echoed by critics around the world concerned for citizens’ rights. One only has to Google “WEF 15-Minute Cities” to appreciate the international controversy this globalist initiative has stirred up. Like the Smart City opposition, critics of the 15-Minute City have been labelled conspiracy theorists and routinely dismissed.
So, where is this all leading….? What is the WEF’s endgame in establishing a digital world with CBDC, digital IDs, an agile nation with Smart Cities, and 15-Minute City neighbourhoods? The answer is found in WEF presentations and documents.