The College of Psychologists of Ontario, a governing body for psychological practitioners, has as its mandate “to protect the public interest by monitoring and regulating the practice of psychology” — and to govern political speech, too, it seems.
Jordan B. Peterson, a member of the CPO, was sent a disciplinary letter requiring him to “review, reflect on and ameliorate [his] professionalism in public statements” by completing a re-education program. Peterson wrote on Twitter formally indicating his “refusal to comply,” which he has done by filing an application for judicial review with the Ontario Divisional Court.
This is not the first time Peterson has run into demands made on how he uses his speech. In 2016, he launched to fame after he refused to comply with Canadian compelled speech codes, as they related to transgenderism. “Why should your right to freedom of speech trump a trans person’s right not to be offended?” Cathy Newman, a British TV presenter, asked him in a 2018 interview. “Because in order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive,” Peterson replied.
This time, Peterson is under fire for comments he made on the Joe Rogan podcast about transgenderism being a “social contagion” and on Twitter when he referred to Elliot Page by her birth name, Ellen Page, said she’d “had her breasts removed by a criminal physician.” Peterson has also challenged Justin Trudeau’s leadership and the fat positivity movement, which he deems to be founded in unreality.
Rather than say he is being disciplined for saying things they dislike — as is the case — the CPO told Peterson that they felt his comments “may cause harm” and had a significant “impact risk.” Peterson requested substantiation: “Who exactly was harmed, how, when, to what degree and how was that harm measured?” Of course, there is yet no evidence Peterson has ever caused harm to a patient, nor ever would.
As ever, this is about crushing dissidents, and, as ever, Peterson is right to resist.