Psychologist Jordan Peterson to Undergo Reeducation Sessions
Peterson lost his freedom of speech battle in court.
The Toronto Sun reports that the Ontario Divisional Court has ruled against Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, finding the College of Psychologists has the right to regulate the profession and require him to take social media coaching to keep his license.
“Dr. Peterson cannot have it both ways: He cannot speak as a member of a regulated profession without taking responsibility for the risk of harm that flows from him speaking in that trusted capacity”, Justice Paul Schabas wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel.
The story dates back to last January when the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO) ordered Peterson to undergo mandatory social media communication retraining to “modify his objectionable behavior.” The psychologist’s crime: tweeting messages that do not fit the CPO’s narrative.
If we are to believe Peterson, “[a]bout a dozen people from all over the world submitted complaints about my public statements on Twitter and [Joe Rogan’s podcast] over a four-year period (out of the 15 million who follow me on social media) claiming that I had ‘harmed’ people (not them) with my views.”
The College of Psychologists of Ontario demands that its most famous member undertake a coaching program to “review, reflect on, and ameliorate his professionalism in public statements.” In other words, he must learn not to deviate from the script written by the technocrats of the institution.
The psychologist responded that he would accept to change his tone, but added that he would refuse to participate in any mandated coaching.
The complaints against him relate mainly to his criticism of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a retweet of a comment made by conservative leader Pierre Poilievre about the severity of health measures during the pandemic.
Jordan B. Peterson is a best-selling author. He spent fifteen years writing Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief. He also penned the popular global bestsellers Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life, and 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, the latter having sold more than five million copies.
According to The Toronto Sun, a number of “intervenors, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, supported his position, saying the disciplinary tribunal had gone too far and shouldn’t be policing his […] beliefs that have nothing to do with his profession.”
The court disagreed.
Following the latter’s decision, Peterson tweeted, “The courts are captured by the woke ideologues; I knew this already but did not fully understand its extent.”
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