FreeSpeech and Censorship: Thread

[grarpamp]

Ontario Governing Body For Psychologists Demands Re-Education For
Jordan Peterson

https://torontosun.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-the-orwellian-re-education-of-jordan-peterson

Outspoken psychologist and former tenured professor Jordan Peterson
has come under relentless attack ever since he criticized the 'Act To
Amend The Canadian Human Rights Act And The Criminal Code' back in
2016.  The act is a framework which makes scrutiny of gender identity
ideology or transsexualism into potential discrimination under
Canadian law.  Peterson posted a series of videos which outline why
critique of gender identity groups is rooted in science and should be
protected as free speech.

After several years of harassment from leftist activists and
politically motivated bureaucrats, Peterson is once again being
threatened.  This time, with the loss of his license to practice
psychology unless he submits to a series of 're-education' programs
mandated by the College of Pyschologists of Ontario.

The CPO is a quasi-governmental body (a mostly unaccountable
bureaucracy) acting in accordance with the Psychology Act, 1991 the
Health Professions Procedural Code, the Regulated Health Professions
Act, 1991 and the regulations and by-laws of the college.  The CPO's
sudden aggressive effort to silence Jordan Peterson appears to have
been triggered by his reinstatement on Twitter in November.

He was originally banned from the site for referring to actress Elliot
Page by her original name (Ellen Page) and using the word “her” as a
descriptive, which is a scientific fact, but also a violation of the
leftist site's TOS before Elon Musk's takeover.

The psychologist is also known for his criticisms of Canada's
draconian covid lockdowns and mandates.

With Peterson once again having access to a wider audience on social
media, the CPO has ordered him to complete a mandatory “Specified
Continuing Education or Remedial Program” to “review, reflect on and
ameliorate [his] professionalism in public statements,” according to a
lengthy list of requirements from the college that Peterson shared on
Twitter.  He must meet with a psychologist for coaching classes, which
he must pay for, until a final report is issued by the coach that
shows their concerns have been “properly ameliorated.”

The CPO argues that Peterson's social media interactions constitute a
violation of the organization's standards for professional
interactions with the public.  In other words, the CPO essentially
believes it has the right to control the speech of member
psychologists and force them to adhere to a predetermined narrative
they find acceptable when engaging with the public.

It should be noted that there are no publicized instances of
psychologists being threatened with a loss of their license for
espousing leftist viewpoints on social media.  The measures appear to
be strictly designed to punish more conservative leaning
professionals.

Peterson says he will not comply with the CPO programs because his
comments have nothing to do with his role as a psychologist.  “Every
single accusation is not only independent of my clinical practice, but
explicitly political — and not only that: unidirectionally explicitly
political,” Peterson writes.

Canada's spiral into authoritarianism is widely publicized and the
nation's waning respect for free speech accelerated during the
pandemic lockdowns.  While the US is not far behind, Americans at
least have free speech rights codified in a constitution that is
designed to regulate what the government can and cannot do.  In
Canada, such a thing does not exist.  Canadian rights are treated more
like privileges that the government is allowed to legally erase at a
moment's notice.

CPO actions not only indicate hostility towards free speech, but also
hint at an underlying fear – Members of the professional class are
often the most indoctrinated of all people, and for one of them to
break from the paradigm and speak against the establishment is
considered the utmost betrayal.

Peterson is being targeted with a special brand of bureaucratic
attention because the establishment uses the professional class to
convince and control the general public.  The claim that the “experts
have spoken” is the ultimate tool for manipulating a majority of the
population, and when some of those experts contradict the narrative,
the powers-that-be take particular notice.