Pierre Poilievre wouldn’t let Stephen Harper be part of his government – Toronto Sun

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Stephen Harper wouldn’t be considered good enough for a cabinet position in a government led by Pierre Poilievre.

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In his latest pitch for votes from the fringe, the Conservative leadership candidate said that he won’t accept ministers attending the annual summit of the World Economic Forum.

Of course, Poilievre’s campaign co-chair, John Baird should be fired since he attended and spoke for Canada at the WEF in 2014.

The World Economic Forum, founded 51 years ago by German academic Klaus Schwab, has held an annual summit drawing government and business leaders from around the world. Lately, though, it has become the focus of legitimate concerns over the influence it wields and the subject of several conspiracy theories.

Schwab’s call to have a “Great Reset” in the economy as part of the recovery from COVID-19 has been the focus for those who see the WEF as an organization with too much power. There are regular claims that the WEF controls governments, including Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, and fixes elections.

None of this is true, but it’s shared widely online, and it’s the people who buy into these conspiracy theories that Poilievre is trying to attract in his bid to win the leadership of the Conservative Party. He posted a video clip of one of his recent speeches where he said a Poilievre government wouldn’t allow participation at the annual summit.

“And that is why I have made it clear that my ministers in my government will be banned from participating in the World Economic Forum,” Poilievre said to great applause from the crowd.

“If you want to go to Davos, to that conference, make it a one-way ticket. But you can’t be part of our government and working for a policy agenda that is against the interests of our people.”

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This video, and Poilievre’s new “policy” on the World Economic Forum, is nothing but garbage aimed at sucking in people who believe half-truths or outright lies.

When Stephen Harper or his ministers went to Davos, they weren’t working for a policy agenda that was against the people of Canada, they were selling Canada.

This is a conference attracting top business leaders, the kind of people who make investment decisions on where to locate plants and offices. Being there helps bring in new companies, new investment and new jobs to Canada.

“Canada’s rock-solid economic fundamentals make our country a top destination for global investors. At the WEF, we showed this to the world once again,” then-foreign affairs minister John Baird said after representing Canada at the WEF in 2014.

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Was Baird working against the interests of Canada when he went?

The people Poilievre is pitching to with this message truly believe this shadowy organization has actual power in Canada and those who have attended have been indoctrinated by Schwab. I don’t think Stephen Harper was when he spoke to the forum about the need to control government debt, rein in spending and make decisions for future economic growth and prosperity.

In his 2012 address, Harper took his vision for where western democratic countries should be heading directly to those business and government leaders. Harper spoke of the investment climate his government was creating, the need to be able to export our energy to Asia and beyond, the need to reform social programs so that they were on a solid footing instead of following Europe’s path to fiscal instability.

Under a Poilievre government, Canada wouldn’t be selling itself on one of the most important stages in the world.

Poilievre is a smart man; he knows that what he’s saying on this file is nothing but gibberish. He doesn’t need to flirt with and encourage the acceptance of conspiracy theories to win the leadership, but that’s what he’s doing.

The Conservatives need a serious leader to challenge Trudeau and the Liberals. If Poilievre wants to be leader, he should smarten up and leave this garbage for the internet trolls.