Three Ontario judges ruled unanimously against Jordan B. Peterson, upholding the decision of the College of Psychologists that ordered the conservative commentator to undertake social media ‘re-education’ training due to a series of ‘degrading’ and ‘unprofessional’ tweets that offended marginalized social justice groups, Peterson announced on Thursday, August 24th.
As we wrote back in February, the renowned psychologist and conservative media personality was reprimanded by the Ontario College of Psychologists, who threatened to revoke Peterson’s license as a medical practitioner due to “hateful conduct” on social media unless he takes a course on “professional communication” and even pay for it himself.
But one glance at his ‘problematic’ tweets is more than enough to know it was never about professionalism, but an ideologically motivated witch-hunt, attempting to silence one of the best-known right-wing commentators on the internet simply for his political opinions.
Peterson’s crime was simply criticizing, among other things, the modern glorification of obesity, the profit-driven physicians preying on the transgender movement, the institutionally forced use of neo-pronouns of LGBT individuals, some Western countries’ draconian COVID restrictions, and the policies of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in general.
Naturally, Petersen filed for a judicial review, arguing that political commentary does not fall under the College’s purview and that its decision violates the freedom of speech at its most basic level.
On Wednesday, however, the case was dismissed unanimously by three judges of the Ontario Divisional Court, who ruled that the College’s decision does fall within the mandate to regulate the profession in the public interest and doesn’t affect any fundamental freedoms.
“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 Court’s final decision reads.
In an interview with the Toronto Sun, Peterson reacted by saying he was “stunned” by the decision and vowed to take his appeal “all the way to the Supreme Court” if he has to. Stressing that he’s being targeted for political reasons, Peterson said:
It’s a funny kind of disappointment, because I’m disappointed more as a citizen of Canada than the personal side.
Before the ruling, Peterson—who no longer practices but wants to retain his license, stated that if every court rejected his appeal, he would eventually attend the training—and even broadcast it. “I’ll comply with their regulations, but I’m not going to do it in secret,” the psychologist told CBC. “And the reason I’m not going to do it in secret is because I don’t believe I’ve done anything wrong.”
Besides, the story is not really about the Orwellian re-education training, but whether it manages to silence one of Western conservatism’s most influential voices. “The fundamental issue is one of free discourse. … We think by talking, in a large part.” Peterson said, adding that:
And so I’m not willing to suspend my tongue as a consequence of government decree.
