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LILLEY: Poilievre spoke up for Jordan Peterson’s free speech; more should join him – Toronto Sun

Published Jan 09, 2023  •  3 minute read

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There was a time when every politician, and journalist, would defend the idea of free speech in this country. Now, it depends on whether they agree with the person whose speech is being curtailed.

Exhibit A: Jordan B. Peterson, clinical psychologist, bestselling author, podcaster and host of sold out speaking tours.

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Peterson is currently battling the College of Psychologists of Ontario, a provincially legislated body that has quasi-judicial authority, which wants him to undergo social media reeducation or potentially lose his licence. It’s a shocking overreach by the college, but so far only one federal leader, Pierre Poilievre, has spoken up in his defence.

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That might be because Poilievre is being “investigated” — and I use that word loosely here — because last January the doctor retweeted one of Poilievre’s postings. The now-Conservative leader had tweeted about COVID restrictions and accused the government of going too far. He called for the restrictions to be lifted, Peterson agreed and someone complained.

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As I detailed last week, the collection of tweets that prompted the college to launch an “investigation” into Peterson on March 8, 2022, were purely political. In addition to the Poilievre tweet, there was one critical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an online fight with Trudeau’s former top aide Gerry Butts and one where Peterson said there is no culture of Nazis or white supremacy in Canada.

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All political points that any reasonable reader could agree or disagree with, but nothing outrageous.

Even the one tweet that some claim was counselling suicide was all about politics and wasn’t in any way encouraging someone to kill themselves. Peterson tweeted that the world is not overpopulated, something one reader vehemently disagreed with, saying there were too many people on the planet, and it was having a horrible effect on it.

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“You’re free to leave at any point,” Peterson tweeted back.

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That’s not counselling suicide, it’s pointing out the hypocrisy of so many people who think the world needs fewer people, they just mean fewer other people and aren’t talking about them or their family. Anyone claiming that is counselling suicide is stretching the statement beyond all belief.

Poilievre noted in posting his video on supporting Peterson’s right to free speech that his “liberal critics in the media” will say this means he must support everything the good doctor has ever said.

“Well, of course not. I don’t endorse 100% of everything anyone has ever said. There’s no two people in the world who agree 100% of the time on 100% of things, and so I’m sure there is something he’s posted that I do object to, but that is not the point,” Poilievre said.

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It’s good to see that he gets it because so many don’t. They only believe in freedom of expression for those they agree with politically. That’s not what the Charter of Rights and Freedoms says; it plainly states that everyone has “freedom of expression” which includes speech and many other forms of communication.

Other people who do get it are the many lawyers, doctors, teachers and others who work under professional bodies, like the College of Psychologists. They’ve reached out, many of them politically at odds with Peterson, to say they are worried about the precedent this move by the college sets.

A psychologist from British Columbia noted what they called, “a disturbing trend towards the censorship of health professionals in BC.” A lawyer from Saskatchewan said what is happening to Peterson amounts to lawfare, the use of legal bodies to harass someone, and that it happens too often in the legal profession.

“Every lawyer in Canada should be working pro bono on this case. It affects all of us. No matter one’s politics,” one Ontario lawyer said.

As Poilievre noted in his video, we shouldn’t just support freedom of expression when we agree with what’s being said, but even, and especially, when we disagree.