Under the Trudeau Liberal government, it seems that freedom of speech is under attack in Canada. In a blow to freedom of expression for all Canadians, the Ontario Court of Appeal has turned its back on Dr. Jordan Peterson, Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator.
He apparently committed the ultimate sin – refusing to bend the knee to woke ideology. Now the Liberal establishment wants the prominent psychologist reeducated for speaking his mind.
The court refused to hear Peterson’s appeal in his legal battle against the College of Psychologists of Ontario.
This shocking decision allows colleges and licensing bodies to limit what licensed professionals say on social media and in public. From doctors to teachers, plumbers to nurses – speak out at your own risk. Big brother is watching, ready to bring down the hammer.
It seems that Canada’s move towards totalitarianism continues.
The question now is – has free speech in Trudeau’s Canada just died?
In case you missed it, Jordan Peterson just suffered a major defeat in his legal battle against the College of Psychologists of Ontario, which tried to force him into social media reeducation.
The College received politically motivated complaints about comments Dr. Peterson made on social media, and during appearances on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Despite none of the complaints relating to his actual work as a psychologist, Peterson was hauled before a disciplinary hearing and ordered to undergo mandatory social media reeducation training dictated by the College.
Essentially, they wanted to police his speech and make him toe their ideological line.
Peterson bravely refused to comply with this egregious overreach. He launched a legal challenge seeking judicial oversight, arguing the College was violating his Charter rights to free expression. But his stand for freedom of speech just took a huge hit with this latest ruling against him.
It seems that the courthouse doors have been slammed shut, leaving Peterson and all Canadians out in the cold. In rendering its decision with no reasons given, the appeals court has abandoned freedom of expression for all.
In response, Peterson published a piece through the National Post, with the bold claim that “Bureaucrats will rue the day they tried to shut me up.”
This should cause alarm for all of us, as it establishes a dangerous precedent empowering regulatory bodies to restrict expression.
Since when was the Canada we know to value democracy, freedom, and justice?
This should deeply concern anyone working in a regulated profession – doctors, nurses, teachers, chiropractors, hair-stylists, plumbers, and many more. Essentially, if your career field has a governing college, they now have broad authority to police your speech.
These colleges can censor you and initiate disciplinary actions over anything deemed politically incorrect that you say on social media or in public forums. Merely expressing opinions they disagree with could cost you your livelihood and ability to practice your chosen profession.
This is incredibly coercive control over professionals’ speech. Regulatory colleges were never meant to be Orwellian, 1984-esque thought police monitoring your views. Their mandate relates to enforcing standards for competent practice, not policing free expression.
Yet this ruling grants them unchecked power to limit speech under the guise of regulating professions. Anyone whose career depends on a license is now under threat if they espouse controversial opinions or go against an ideological narrative. That is a chilling erosion of our Canadian freedoms.
The Peterson decision is a canary in the coal mine. If this blatant violation of his rights is allowed to stand, Canada has lost free speech.
Earlier this week, Justices Nordheimer, Copeland, and Dawe denied Jordan Peterson leave to appeal without providing any rationale. This upheld a bizarre August ruling from the Ontario Superior Court written by Justice Paul Schabas. Before his appointment, Schabas had a long history of championing leftist causes through the legal system.
In his muddled decision, Schabas contradictorily claimed the College’s order was not disciplinary despite being issued by their disciplinary committee and referred to elsewhere as disciplinary.
Schabas also recklessly asserted the forced social media reeducation would have “minimal impact” on Peterson’s freedom of expression rights. Thus, in Schabas’ view, the infringement of Charter freedoms was somehow justified.
Schabas improperly leaned on the Supreme Court case Dore v. Barreau du Quebec to justify infringing on Peterson’s rights, citing it 17 times.
For context, it involves a lawyer criticizing a judge’s conduct, then the legal establishment silencing the lawyer by invoking charter rights.
Schabas twisted this case to rationalize the College’s overreach, though his arguments were contrived and unconvincing. The entire ruling reeked of politics from start to finish. And while no reason was provided, the Appeals Court decision appears similarly politicized.
Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley highlighted the blatant bias against Peterson, comparing it to Henry II’s plot to silence Thomas Becket. As Lilley stated, “It’s as if the Ontario court system, channeling Henry II, cried out, ‘Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?’ just before Saint Thomas Becket was killed.”
Obviously no one is literally trying to kill Jordan Peterson as in the case of Thomas Becket. However, the establishment clearly wants to metaphorically silence and destroy his influential voice of dissent.
While one may agree or disagree with Dr. Peterson’s views, his legal case sets a frightening precedent that should alarm all Canadians who value free speech.
By refusing to even hear this appeal, the court has essentially rubber stamped the regulatory college’s overreach and egregious abuse of power. This decision gives all professional governing bodies incredible and coercive control to restrict speech as they see fit.
Today it is Dr. Peterson being targeted for his controversial political opinions. But tomorrow it could be anyone who dares express a view deemed “problematic” by those in power. Once this pandora’s box opens, it will be incredibly difficult to close again.
The Peterson case has now given regulators free reign to police thoughts and speech under the guise of protecting professional standards. This is a slippery slope that sacrifices fundamental freedoms on the altar of political correctness and censorship. All Canadians who care about charter rights should be deeply concerned.
Make no mistake, the relentless persecution of Jordan Peterson stems from his unapologetic critique of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal regime. This whole debacle underscores how freedom of speech is under unprecedented attack in Trudeau’s Canada.
First it was cracking down on peaceful protests and unlawfully freezing bank accounts, now it’s literally prosecuting trained, licensed professionals?
As a professor, Peterson regularly condemned authoritarian policies promoted by the Liberal establishment, from compelled speech laws to lockdown mandates. He famously called Justin Trudeau a “preposterous narcissist.”
His dissent made him a target. The left saw a prominent psychologist unwilling to bend the knee and they pounced to deplatform and destroy him.
They weaponized a regulatory body to punish Peterson for daring to speak out against so-called progressive ideology. The court’s refusal to intervene makes it clear – Trudeau’s Canada has no tolerance for dissenting voices. This systematic effort to silence Peterson must be driven by politics, not principles.
In Trudeau’s Canada, professionals risk their careers if they express the “wrong” opinions. Charter freedoms like freedom of expression only apply if you say what they want you to say.
Otherwise, the full coercive power of the state comes crashing down to enforce progressive dogma.
The Peterson case has sounded the alarm – freedom hangs by a thread in Canada.
According to Peterson’s attorney Howard Levitt, the lower court’s ruling has damaged Canada’s reputation globally as many have decried this attack on free expression.
“The Divisional Court’s decision has placed Canada into disrepute internationally as many have decried the impact on free speech in Canada,” he said.
And he has a point. Business giant Elon Musk even weighed in on the matter, saying on his platform, X, that Peterson should indeed undergo the social media training program – only to mock it.
“If you take the “sensitivity training” course and explain live why it is nonsense, that would be quite funny,” he wrote.
The whole debacle is just absolutely ridiculous. And we should all be worried and extremely concerned.
When it comes to the Canadian establishment versus Jordan Peterson, there are no real principles at play – only a single-minded drive to censor and silence his dissent towards the Trudeau Liberal government.
Well, that’s all for now.
