CCLA in Court to Address Regulatory Overreach and Defend Freedom of Expression

The CCLA spoke before Ontario’s Divisional Court on June 21, 2023 to address overreach by professional regulators into the realm of free expression. CCLA intervened in an application for judicial review where a regulated professional (a psychologist) was required to undergo a continuing education and remedial program based on tweets as well as comments made when being interviewed for a podcast. The psychologist does not maintain an active practice and his comments were largely unrelated to his profession.  

The figure at the centre of the case, Dr. Jordan Peterson, is a highly controversial figure and often uses social media to express his views, many of which are offensive, particularly to certain minority communities. While the CCLA disagrees strongly with the views of Dr. Peterson, his case highlights the broad scope and discretion that professional regulators have to chill or silence expression that is unpopular. Requiring an individual to undergo a remedial “coaching” program because of controversial messages largely unrelated to the practice of the profession takes regulators beyond their proper roles. We argued that while professionals can and will be constrained by their decision to pursue their profession, their right to free expression should not be unduly limited. Professional regulators only have authority over expression that is clearly connected to professional practice and must exercise their powers in accordance with their core function of regulating the profession in the public interest. CCLA’s factum is available here. 

We are grateful to Nadia Effendi, Teagan Markin and Erica McLachlan of BLG LLP for their excellent pro bono representation in this case.