An Ontario court has dismissed Dr. Jordan Peterson’s appeal of an earlier decision that sided with the College of Psychologists of Ontario and means the clinical psychologist and professor must attend a Canadian government “re-education” camp.
According to Peterson, “the war has barely started” after he lost his bid to have the courts bar the College of Psychologists of Ontario from forcing him to undergo state-sponsored remedial social media training to correct his views on various topics.
On Tuesday, a panel of three judges with the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed Peterson’s motion for leave to appeal an earlier decision by the Ontario Divisional Court. No reasons were given by the court.
National Post report: Peterson said that the college had “won this round,” but the war is not over.
“There is nothing you can take from me that I’m unwilling to lose,” he wrote. ”So watch out. Seriously. You’ve been warned.”
Howard Levitt, the lawyer who represented the controversial psychologist and best-selling author, said they are unable to appeal further. The Toronto employment lawyer and Financial Post columnist said he was surprised, given the international media attention Peterson’s case garnered, that the courts did not want to weigh in on the extent to which professional regulatory bodies can police members’ speech.
“Is there free speech in Canada? To what extent are the limits on free speech in Canada, to free speech which is not criminal or not tortious, not a violation of any law? To what extent are regulated professionals and regulated trades impacted in terms of what they can say in the public forum?” said Levitt. “These are important issues and Canada has been castigated broadly for the decision of the divisional court.”
In a separate post sent around the same time Tuesday evening, Peterson said that Canadians are under the “delusion” that there is free expression in the country.
“But rest assured, sleeping Canuck sheep: your Charter of Rights is a facade,” he wrote. “And you will be fleeced while you bleat.”