Canada’s Sovereignty Encroached Upon by Global Corporations and Organizations: Tory Leadership Candidate Leslyn Lewis

Conservative MP and leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis speaks at the Conservative Party of Canada English leadership debate in Edmonton on May 11, 2022. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

Conservative leadership candidate and MP Leslyn Lewis says global organizations and companies are increasingly infringing on Canada’s sovereignty, posing concerns for Canada’s democracy and “our way of life,” while personal freedoms are gradually eroding in this country. Along with the economy and “out-of-control cost of living,” these are pressing issues that call for attention, she said.

“We’re seeing more and more that global corporations are encroaching on our sovereignty,” Lewis, who is a lawyer, told The Epoch Times in an interview.

“And we’re seeing that these global organizations are actually partnering with global corporations to appropriate wealth and appropriate things that were previously free to us, such as who owns a plant, who owns a certain product.”

As an example, Lewis cited the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations.

“The WHO is under the United Nations, and the United Nations, they are encroaching on our sovereignty in more and more ways, even in the food that we consume, through their biodiversity agreements, etc.,” she said.

Known as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the multilateral treaty commits signatory states, which includes Canada, to “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.”

Another example Lewis gives is the global pandemic response treaty that the WHO has launched, which she says shouldn’t be dictating to Canada how it makes its own health-care decisions and pandemic strategy.

Lewis has said she is not against Canada working with allies to fight pandemics, but she says there are many red flags when it comes to this particular treaty.

“First of all, to even consider signing on to an international treaty before holding an inquiry into the consequences of our own response to COVID-19 is foolish. We must learn the lessons from the past two years and establish better best practices for the future,” she said in a statement.

“Of even more concern, if this treaty is enshrined, the WHO would be in full control over what gets called a pandemic. They could dictate how our doctors can respond, which drugs can and can’t be used, or which vaccines are approved. We would end up with a one-size-fits-all approach for the entire world. Canada is a vast and diverse country with regional differences. A one-size-fits-all response to a health crisis doesn’t even work across Canada, let alone the entire globe.”

Democratic Values

Lewis, who is running for the second time to be the next leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, emphasizes the importance of upholding democratic values and allowing diversity of thoughts and beliefs.

“For our democracy to survive, we have to be able to respect a diversity of beliefs and opinions and recognize that we, as human beings, are entitled,” she told The Epoch Times. “We don’t all have to think alike in order for us to get along, nor for us to work together.”

She is worried about the erosion of freedoms in Canada under the current Liberal government, she said, and concerned that Canada may be moving in the same direction as that of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“Recently, I heard that the CCP was shutting down people’s health passes for individuals who were going to a protest. Now, I want to remind people that we were one step away from that—we had vaccine passes,” she said.

“To program those vax passes to accommodate, say transportation passes, or to accommodate your spending, to have it linked into your bank account—that’s just a program that would probably take an hour to program on your phone. And so we were not that far removed from where communist China was, in tracking people.”

She also cites the example of the Liberal government invoking the Emergencies Act in February in response to the truckers-inspired convoy protests over COVID-19 mandates.

“We also saw [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau confiscate property of protesters, and he jailed protesters, he froze bank accounts without a court order—these are things that we hear are happening in communist China,” she said.

In addition, she said many media are not holding the government to account, but rather, anytime an individual speaks out against the government, the “henchmen” of those media outlets will “come out and try to put you in line by maligning you and ruining your character.”

She notes that many media target those holding social conservatives in politics, asking them repeated questions about their beliefs, but don’t do the same for politicians who are on the left side of the spectrum.

“It’s unfortunate that legacy media only cares about your personal belief if you’re a social conservative. They don’t badger people on the left with those types of questions,” she said, adding that she has always been upfront about her beliefs as a social conservative.

“I have nothing to hide. I’m proud of the fact that I’m a person that lives her life based on her faith values. I’m proud of the fact that I am pro-life. I don’t hide that. And I respect others who don’t share my beliefs.”

Important Issues

Lewis says some of the most important issues facing Canada currently are the economy, inflation, and affordability. But besides making sure Canadians can maintain their quality of life economically, issues of sovereignty and freedoms are also important, she says.

Lewis also says it’s important that parental rights be upheld so that parents can maintain control and involvement in their children’s education.

“Right now we’re seeing that children are being indoctrinated in schools, that schools are no longer institutions of learning. Whether it’s from a lower level, or even at the university level, we’re seeing massive indoctrination, and the suppression of free expression and freedom of thought,” she said.

“So I have proposed a parental rights bill that will allow parents to have more involvement in different levels of their children’s life when it comes to organizations and programs that are regulated by [the] government.”

Rewarding Merit

Lewis said she believes Canada is a country where hard work and honesty will be rewarded.

“I’m living proof of that,” said Lewis, who immigrated to Canada as a child. “If you look at the fact that I was an outsider running for the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and on the second ballot, I won the popular vote in this country. It shows you that Canadians, it’s ingrained in our DNA to be a merit-based society.”

“And that’s why when we see governments trying to infringe on our sovereignty or our freedoms, that we will even stand out in minus 20 cold, protesting and fighting for our rights, because we still believe in the foundations of equality, and a meritocracy,” she added.

“Our freedoms are not conferred on us by our government. It is the people who confer that right to the government.”

Omid Ghoreishi contributed to this report.