Paul Hellyer, who oversaw the Canadian defense forces in the 1960s, has come out and said that the illuminati is a real entity and is controlling the world - making him the highest ranking government official worldwide to do so.

Hellyer told the Lazarus Effect podcast he believes the world's elite has the technology to reverse the effects of climate change, but is holding back from the public. When asked why, Hellyer said that the Illuminati wanted to help the petroleum industry.

The Illuminati are a group that conspiracy theorists assert controls the world's affairs and economy, and its members come from the worlds of politics, business and entertainment.

According to Hellyer, many members of the Illuminati have stakes in how well the oil industry performs financially.

Paul Hellyer, who served in the Canadian government for decades, claims that the Illuminati is a real entity and is withholding information from the public

'You have a got secret cabal that's actually running the world and they've managed to keep this technology under wraps until they can cash in the trillions of oil assets that they've got,' Hellyer said.

'And it's not going to change until hundreds of thousands of people band together and say look "you've got to come clean, tell us what is going on, and change your priorities to save the world for further generations instead of blowing it on wars."

Hellyer is known for making some rather outrageous claims - in the past, he's said the United States intervened to take over an alien crash site in the Canadian province of Manitoba. These aliens are the source of the anti-climate change technology, claims Hellyer.

The Illuminati is a group that conspiracy theorists say has a great deal of influence over global affairs despite being secretive

He also says in the podcast that in the eyes of these alien life forms, humans are primitive life forms, and that these aliens could help humans in times of need in the future.

'Certainly they are more advanced in agriculture and medicine and many other areas and if that's true why aren't we cooperating with them to build a better world?'