Jordan Peterson’s court case loss hurts freedom of expression for all

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The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision not to hear Jordan Peterson’s case on freedom is speech is dangerous for everyone in Canada.

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That’s especially true if you work in a regulated trade or profession, everything from doctors and nurses to teachers and chiropractors or hair stylists and plumbers.

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If you have a college that regulates who can work in your field, they can now control your political speech and censure you over anything you say in public or on social media.

If you haven’t heard, Jordan Peterson has lost his latest attempt to fight back against the College of Phycologists of Ontario and their attempt to force Peterson into social media reeducation. The College had received complaints about comments made by Peterson on social media and on The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast.

All the complaints were political, none involved his work as a psychologist, but he was still subject to a disciplinary hearing and told to undergo social media training in a manner chosen by the college. Peterson said no and launched a legal challenge, seeking judicial oversight of the proceedings and claiming the college was infringing his Charter rights.

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On Wednesday, Justices Nordheimer, Copeland and Dawe issued a statement, with no reasons given, that they simply would not grant Peterson leave to appeal a decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Last August, the Superior Court issued a bizarre ruling written by Justice Paul Schabas, a man with a long legal history of championing left-wing causes before being appointed to the bench.

In his incoherent ruling, Schabas said that the order by the college was “not disciplinary” even though it was issued by the disciplinary committee and the judge described it as disciplinary elsewhere in his half-baked ruling.

Schabas also said that the order to undergo social media reeducation had “minimal impact” on Peterson’s right to freedom of expression and was therefore justified.

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Then Schabas invoked the Supreme Court case, Dore v. Barreau du Quebec, 17 times to explain how the infringement of Peterson’s rights were justified. For those that don’t know, Dore is a case about a lawyer complaining about the conduct of a judge and then the whole judicial system siding with the judge against the lawyer when the lawyer invoked his Charter right of freedom of expression.

That’s the justification relied on Schabas in the Peterson case, and he didn’t use it particularly well. The entire decision was political from beginning to end and while we have no proof, because we have no reasons given, it would seem the Ontario Court of Appeal decision was political as well.

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It’s as if the Ontario court system, channelling Henry II, cried out, “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?” just before Saint Thomas Becket was killed.

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No one is trying to kill Jordan Peterson, but the establishment definitely wants to shut him up. Like him or not, his case should concern the rest of us because the court has given regulatory bodies incredible power.

“The Divisional Court’s decision has placed Canada into disrepute internationally as many have decried the impact on free speech in Canada,” said Peterson’s lawyer Howard Levitt.

“It has had a chilling impact on members of regulated trades and professions covering a large percentage of the workforce, who will now be reluctant to debate political and social issues for fear of losing their licence to work.”

Levitt said he was hopeful that win or lose at the appellant court, they would at least have heard the case.

“I would have thought the Court of Appeal, whatever its ultimate decision, would have wanted to set out the appropriate legal tests and principles,” he said.

That didn’t happen, because when it comes to the Canadian establishment and Jordan Peterson, there are no principles, just a deep desire to silence him.

Read the full ruling from the Ontario Court of Superior Justice on Peterson.

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