Ontario’s highest court has dismissed a request by controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson to challenge a court ruling that upheld a regulatory body’s order that he undergo social media training or potentially lose his licence to practice.
A spokesperson for the Court of Appeal for Ontario says that a panel of judges has decided to not grant Peterson leave to appeal an August 2023 divisional court ruling that affirmed that the College of Psychologists for Ontario could order him to undergo training on professionalism in public statements.
Get the latest National news.
Sent to your email, every day.
Jason Gennero adds the panel has dismissed the retired University of Toronto psychology professor’s request to file fresh evidence and the panel does not provide reasons for its decisions.
Peterson says in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that there are now no legal avenues he can take to challenge the college’s decision to send him “to re-education camp”, adding his “war” with the college has “barely started.”
Peterson rose to prominence through his polarizing YouTube videos critiquing liberal culture and since at least 2018, the governing body of Ontario’s psychologists — of which Peterson has been a registered member since 1999 despite having stopped seeing patients in 2017 — has received complaints regarding Peterson’s comments.
The college’s complaints committee has said that some of Peterson’s online commentary on a range of issues, from gender transition to climate change, posed a moderate risk of harm to the public and undermined public trust in the profession of psychology.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
