Feds Provide Details on Inception of WEF-Initiated ‘Agile Nations’ Framework

A World Economic Forum (WEF) sign is seen at the Davos Congress Centre during the organization’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 23, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Canada is part of a network of countries seeking to streamline regulations to speed up the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” and the federal government recently shed some light on the process that led to its joining this World Economic Forum (WEF) initiative.

Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis has filed several requests with the government in recent months to unearth details about Canada’s involvement in projects of the WEF.

One of her latest requests relates to the “Agile Nations” network, an initiative spearheaded by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the WEF, which led to an agreement signed by Canada and six other countries in December 2020 to set out “commitments to creating a regulatory environment in which new ideas can thrive.”

The two global organizations share a similar progressive worldview and aim to work toward the proliferation of new technologies such as gene editing and artificial intelligence.

The Liberal government tabled an Inquiry of Ministry on March 29 answering Lewis’s questions on Agile Nations. This was in follow-up to a previous request for information on the topic, for which she had obtained results on Dec. 7.

Regarding the Agile Nations Charter, “how was Canada selected to participate in the Panel on Agile Governance for the Post-Pandemic World and subsequently the Agile Nations?” Lewis wrote in her latest order paper.

The WEF panel was held in December 2020 with the premise that “governments and businesses seek to rebuild afresh” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Treasury Board, which manages the Agile Nations file, wrote that the OECD had invited Canada to participate in the panel and that it had been “in discussions with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to co-host a high-level panel with a small group of governments and businesses, as part of the development of the OECD principles on ‘Effective and innovation-friendly rulemaking in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.’”

“The OECD noted that its objective was to launch the development of principles and secure a joint commitment from participating parties, to more agile and resilient regulatory approaches to emerging technologies (from the design to the delivery).”

The initiative led to seven participating countries signing the non legally binding Agile Nations Charter in December 2020. Countries involved include Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

“Technological breakthroughs within and across the digital, biological and physical spheres are heralding a Fourth Industrial Revolution, powering a wave of innovation and entrepreneurship,” says the charter.

“Governed well, these innovations can help drive economic growth and address the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.”

Lewis asked how Canada has contributed to the early drafts of the charter. The Treasury Board said that this information is “not systematically tracked in a centralized database” and that it would be too complicated to retrieve in the time allotted.

The Treasury Board said that the charter was initially drafted by UK officials and that Canada provided suggestions along four lines. It said the language should not be prescriptive, “cooperation should continue to uphold protections for citizens and the environment,” small businesses should be considered, and additional time may be needed to develop work programs.

Canada is involved in seven projects through the Agile Nations, the Dec. 7 Inquiry of Ministry indicated.

Some of those involve developing digital credentials, or digital IDs; the internet of things with consumer products that can connect to networks; and the marketization of digital health devices.

MP Lewis is critical of the streamlining of regulations under the Agile Nations framework, saying it’s escaping the oversight of Parliament.

“If we’re concluding that our government structure needs to be modernized, then the Liberal government should have respect for Canadians and our existing parliamentary system and have a rigorous debate in Parliament,” Lewis said in January.

Canada participated previously in another WEF initiative on the use of digital ID in travel, the Known Traveller Digital Identity project.