The Ontario College of Psychologists has failed to find a ‘social media expert’ to conduct the mandated training for Dr. Jordan Peterson, despite their ardent legal efforts over the past two years to make it happen.
Dr. Peterson provided the update himself in a special to The National Post.
First, he said, the College attempted to bribe him into just retiring and giving up his license himself, in exchange for not having to pay the legal fees the courts ruled he owes them for their years-long legal battle.
“Don’t assume that the target of your offer is open to something approximating a bribe, because that is what it was, particularly when all evidence suggests the contrary,” Peterson told them publicly.
The offer appears to have been a semi-bluff as well.
After Dr. Peterson rejected the offer, putting the ball back in the College’s court, the College then informed Dr. Peterson that they have been unable to find someone to conduct the mandated training, despite spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal battles over the past two years to ensure it would happen.
“There was not a single available ‘social media expert’ available at hand to take on the task!” Dr. Peterson stated.
Dr. Peterson further said he assumes their inability to find someone up to the task is because he’s publicly stated multiple times that he would record the entire social media training and subsequently broadcast it to the world, making the job one that would surely be ridiculed by millions of observers worldwide.
The Daily Wire host previously challenged the mandate from Ontario’s regulatory body for psychologists that required him to attend social media training. In January 2023, Dr. Peterson revealed several complaints made against him to the College of Psychologists of Ontario. The complaints were all made anonymously.
At the time, he revealed that the College ordered him to attend a coaching program “to review, reflect on, and ameliorate my professionalism in public statements.” A “Coach” would assess Dr. Peterson’s performance within six months of starting the program to determine whether he requires more time social media training, dubbed by some “re-education classes.”
Dr. Peterson legally challenged the College’s mandate all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada, but his final appeal was ultimately dismissed.
What were the complaints?
One complaint was for Peterson’s comments on The Joe Rogan podcast on Covid-19 vaccines.
“He is operating outside the domain of expertise, using title as psychologist as a means of conveying information which is harmful to public,” read the complaint.
The same individual complained about Peterson’s social media usage “directed at the prime minister using language that is unprofessional and embarrassing to the profession,” while also saying an exchange Peterson had with former Trudeau advisor Gerald Butts was “threatening, abusive and harassing.”
Another complaint states, “Peterson encouraged people to commit suicide on Twitter.” The complaint pertains to a response Peterson sent to someone claiming the world is overpopulated.
“You’re free to leave anytime,” Peterson replied.
Another complaint took issue with Peterson for appearing “to call Catherine McKenney, an Ottawa City Councillor who uses they/them pronouns a ‘thing.'”
More complaints are over alleged “hate speech” against transgender people. One such tweet saw Peterson’s Twitter account suspended indefinitely. It wasn’t restored until Elon Musk purchased Twitter.
In the tweet that got him suspended, Peterson addressed transgender actor Elliot Page, formerly known as Ellen Page. Peterson said Page “had her breasts removed by a criminal physician.”
Several other complaints were over a tweet Peterson made where he criticized Sports Illustrated for giving a plus-sized woman the front cover.
“Sorry, not beautiful,” Peterson tweeted. “And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that.”
