Jordan Peterson Battles Canadian Regulator In Court Over Threat To Strip His Psychologist License

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson is confronting a Canadian regulator in court over a demand that he undergo “remedial” social media training or face losing his psychologist license.

In November, the College of Psychologists of Ontario levied accusations that Peterson “may have lacked professionalism” in some of his social media posts. The government-backed regulator, which governs the psychology profession in the province, ordered Peterson to undergo “social media communications retraining,” that includes “coaching” for his Twitter commentary, or potentially have his license suspended.

The best-selling author and Daily Wire+ host blasted the effort to remove his license and accused the regulator of trying to suppress free speech.

Peterson also said he would not participate in the process.

BREAKING: the Ontario College of Psychologists @CPOntario has demanded that I submit myself to mandatory social-media communication retraining with their experts for, among other crimes, retweeting @PierrePoilievre and criticizing @JustinTrudeau and his political allies.

— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) January 3, 2023

 

On Wednesday, Peterson got his day in court.

Peterson has accused the regulator of going after him repeatedly since 2017, when his public profile began to grow. He now has a huge audience of 15 million followers across YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.

“I was never investigated for anything for the 20 years I practiced prior to my emergence on the public scene,” Peterson said.

Peterson’s legal team asked a three-judge panel in a packed Toronto court to overturn the regulator’s decision requiring him to undergo the remedial training.

“Tweeting on topics of socio-political interest is, in this day and age, a core aspect of free expression,” his legal team argued, according to court documents. “The decision must therefore be set aside.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

Peterson himself did not attend the day-long court hearing.

Some of Peterson’s offenses, according to the regulator, include retweeting Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre’s criticism of Trudeau, criticizing a former senior Trudeau aide, and expressing opposition to the idea of the Ottawa police taking custody of the children of Trucker Convoy protesters.

Other supposed offenses do not involve direct criticism of the Canadian government, such as Peterson saying on Joe Rogan’s podcast that accepting radical gender theory is a sign of “civilizations collapsing,” calling climate change models unreliable, and criticizing Sports Illustrated for putting a plus-sized swimsuit model on the cover.

Peterson also previously criticized a Canadian law that criminalized using the incorrect pronouns for trans-identifying people.

His legal team argued that the regulator took Peterson’s social media comments out of context.

“Some were sarcastic jokes; others were made in salty exchanges; and others needed to be read together with Dr. Peterson’s fuller explanations of them. Many of the comments were made on Twitter, which is an environment that does not allow for nuanced exposition.”

Attorneys for the College of Psychologists counter-argued that the regulator is not “meaningfully” limiting Peterson’s freedom of expression and said the remedial training is not punitive.

“Members are required to uphold the standards and ethics of the profession and they remain subject to the regulation of their professional body for as long as they remain members,” the psychology regulator’s legal team wrote.

The Canadian Constitution Foundation appeared in court on Wednesday to voice support for Peterson.

The Foundation said it argued that “professional regulators may not regulate off-duty conduct unless they can establish a clear nexus between that specific conduct and the legitimate interest of the profession.” Regulators also have a “heightened duty” to make sure they protect freedom of expression, the Foundation argued.

In January, Peterson wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sounding the alarm on the danger of the Canadian government going after political critics.

“I simply cannot resign myself to the fact that in my lifetime I am required to resort to a public letter to the leader of my country to point out that political criticism has now become such a crime in Canada that if professionals dare engage in such activity, government-appointed commissars will threaten their livelihood and present them with the spectacle of denouncement and political disgrace,” Peterson wrote.

“There is simply and utterly no excuse whatsoever for such a state of affairs in a free country,” he added.

The court has reserved its decision, according to multiple outlets.

New York Times ‘Buries’ The Lede, Confirms Hunter Biden Probe Whistleblower Claims

A new report from The New York Times tells of a source confirming whistleblower allegations that constraints were placed on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden, but it takes some digging to find it.

As noted Tuesday by Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross, the publication waited 20 paragraphs to state the newsworthy tidbit about the source who added credibility to claims of additional charges against President Joe Biden‘s son getting blocked.

The New York Times reported in the 20th paragraph that IRS supervisory special agent Gary Shapley’s whistleblower testimony claimed that a mid-2022 bid by Delaware’s U.S. Attorney David Weiss to pursue charges in Washington, D.C., got rejected by the top federal prosecutor in the nation’s capital.

“A similar request to prosecutors in the Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles, was also rejected, Mr. Shapley testified,” the report added in the 21st paragraph. “A second former I.R.S. official, who has not been identified, told House Republicans the same story. That episode was confirmed independently to The New York Times by a person with knowledge of the situation.”

The reporting about the source could be significant as Attorney General Merrick Garland has denied allegations of political interference in the investigation, which so far has amounted to a plea deal for the 53-year-old Hunter Biden for tax and gun violations. Ross and others called out The New York Times for the low-priority placement.

They buried the lede. https://t.co/xZtWZcCEIw

— Jason Foster (@JsnFostr) June 27, 2023

“NYT buries in the 21st paragraph that it has an independent source who confirms the two IRS whistleblowers’ claim that David Weiss said he was blocked from bringing charges against Hunter Biden in California,” Ross said in his tweet.

“Of course they did,” responded the House Judiciary Committee GOP’s account.

“They buried the lede,” added Jason Foster, a former investigative counsel in the Senate who founded government watchdog group Empower Oversight. Tristan Leavitt, the president of Empower Oversight and a lawyer representing Shapely, responded with a pair of exclamation points.

“The best way to read stories in the NYT or [The Washington Post] is from the bottom up,” tweeted David Harsanyi, a senior editor at The Federalist.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

On Friday, Garland pushed back on the whistleblower accusations.

“He was given complete authority to make all decisions on his own,” Garland said of Weiss. “I don’t know how it would be possible for anybody to block him for bringing a prosecution given that he has that authority.”

The attorney general also denied assertions that Weiss sought but was turned down special counsel status, which could have allowed him broader authority to bring charges outside of his jurisdiction. “Mr. Weiss never made that request,” Garland said.

About Us

Virtus (virtue, valor, excellence, courage, character, and worth)

Vincit (conquers, triumphs, and wins)