Jordan Peterson: Fight Against 'Re-Education' Has 'Barely Started'

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Facts

• Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson has claimed that 'the war has barely started' after losing a legal bid to have courts overturn a policy he described as a social media 're-education camp' ordered by the College of Psychologists of Ontario.¹
• Three judges from the Ontario Court of Appeal on Tuesday dismissed Peterson's motion seeking for the case to be re-examined after an earlier hearing in a lower divisional court also went against him. The appeals court gave no reason.¹
• Peterson gained attention in 2016 when he released a series of self-published YouTube videos explaining why he refused to comply with a newly-passed Canadian law requiring him, as a university professor, to address transgender students by their desired pronoun. Critics argued this was 'transphobic,' but he maintained that his quarrel wasn't about transgender rights but with a law allegedly violating his freedom of speech.²
• This latest dispute also centers around free speech, with the Ontario College of Psychologists — which Peterson has been a member of since 1999 — mandating him to undergo social media training following public comments he made. The complaint includes Peterson's criticisms of Canadian politicians, as well as social media posts about transgender actor Elliot Page and a plus-sized Sports Illustrated model.³
• In a divisional court hearing in August 2023, Peterson's argument that these were 'off-duty' remarks was rejected by three judges. In the ruling, Justice Paul Schabas wrote that Peterson could not 'have it both ways' and avoid the responsibility that comes with speaking from a 'trusted capacity.'³
• Peterson, who has exhausted all possible legal avenues, wrote on X there's 'nothing [they] can take from me that I’m unwilling to lose.' In a column for the National Post, he added that he has no regrets about his comments and would say them again.¹

Sources: ¹Nationalpost, ²Newsweek and ³CP24.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by The Toronto Star. This ruling confirms that even when Peterson thinks he's off-duty, his remarks can still harm the public trust and confidence in his profession, particularly if those comments are degrading, demeaning, and unprofessional, as some of the complaints suggest. This was the right decision.
• Right narrative, as provided by Nationalpost. This is an outrageous affront to free speech. The College of Psychologists was wrong to try to exercise control over Peterson's opinions, and the courts were just as disgraceful in upholding this decision — effectively creating a re-education camp for political speech. This decision must be immediately reversed.

Predictions