Speak out against the Government Jordan Peterson loses court battle over ‘degrading’ and ‘unprofessional’ tweets, will be forced into remedial coaching
Toronto-based psychologist and author Jordan Peterson has lost his bid to overturn a decision by the College of Psychologists of Ontario requiring him to take remedial training for some of his public comments on social media.
In June, Peterson’s lawyers asked a three-judge Divisional Court panel to set aside the CPO’s order that he undergo social media coaching at his own expense. The governing body for psychologists in Ontario made the order after receiving numerous complaints over Peterson’s commentary which has been criticized for attacking feminism and racial diversity.
The CPO’s Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) found some of Peterson’s comments “degrading, demeaning and unprofessional.”
On Wednesday, the Divisional Court dismissed his request in a decision that’s been widely anticipated by free speech advocates and regulators from other professions.
“In my view, the decision of the ICRC adequately and reasonably considered Dr. Peterson’s statements in the context of the College’s statutory mandate to regulate the profession in the public interest,” Justice Paul Schabas wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel.
The ICRC decision considered and proportionately balanced the impact of imposing remedial training on Peterson’s right to freedom of expression protected under the Charter, the judge wrote.
“The order is not disciplinary and does not prevent Dr. Peterson from expressing himself on controversial topics; it has a minimal impact on his right to freedom of expression,” the 17-page decision states. The ICRC decision “is transparent, logical and provides a coherent chain of reasoning and is reasonable based on the facts which were before the ICRC.”
Peterson was reacting before the decision came out.
“I stand by what I have said and done and wish them luck in their continued prosecution. They’re going to need it,” he wrote on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
“I tweeted and otherwise expressed my opposition to trans surgery butchery, @JustinTrudeau and his minions, and the lying climate apocalypse-mongers. All that’s looking pretty good from my end. And if I can’t express such opinions in Canada, I will let the world know.”
He also vowed to record all further hearings and mandatory re-education training courses and broadcast them on Youtube “for the world to see. I swear it by all that is holy.”
Tony DeBono, the CPO’s registrar and executive director, wrote in an emailed statement that the College “will review today’s decision and undertake next steps in accordance with our mandate and any appropriate legal processes.” His statement added that the College is committed to carrying out its mandate of protecting the public interest by regulating the practice of psychology and upholding the Standards of Professional Conduct.
In the decision, Schabas wrote that individuals who join a regulated profession do not lose their Charter right to freedom of expression.
“At the same time, however, they take on obligations and must abide by the rules of their regulatory body that may limit their freedom of expression. This case raises the clash between a regulated clinical psychologist’s right to speak in a certain manner and the regulator’s power to require the member to moderate that speech.”