We are thrilled to be able to share some valuable information about the sweeping “politically correct” issues that are are and most certainly will affect each of us very soon.

Dr. Jordan Peterson, Ph.D. has a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Alberta. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from McGill University. He taught at Harvard University as an Assistant and an Associate Professor before returning to Canada and taking a position at the University of Toronto. Peterson currently resides in Toronto.

Dr. Peterson has recently been faced with some serious controversy lately.  He refuses to honour non-binary students’ request for gender neutral pronouns.

In video lectures posted on YouTube, Peterson criticizes Bill C-16, which would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code to include protection for gender identity or expression.  Peterson told the National Post that “He decided to make the video and go public with his views after receiving a memo from university HR outlining new mandatory anti-racist and anti-bias training. “That disturbs me because if someone asked me to take anti-bias training, I think I am agreeing that I am sufficiently racist or biased to need training.”

       U of T Physics Professor, AW Peet

The National Post reports that “Peterson also said he doesn’t believe there is sufficient research to show these kind of HR practices, which he said may constitute “psychological intervention,” are effective.

He said he is concerned the university is consulting groups like the Black Liberation Collective on campus policy matters, noting he respects their right to exist and protest, but questioning their credentials to offer expert opinion. “I have no problem with them, people can organize themselves however they want, but I have an issue with U of T considering them a legitimate policy advisor,” he said. “I don’t think there is any evidence U of T is a racist university. I think we have done an extraordinary job of building a multi-racial and multi-ethnic university and community, better so than almost all schools.”

“The pronoun issue is straightforward,” added Peterson. “I won’t mouth the words of ideologues, because when you do that you become a puppet for their ideology.” The professor said he believes the writing in the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s terms and definitions is in his view “incoherent, over-inclusive and all encompassing” and has had a disproportionate impact on language used by other government bodies, including the federal Department of Justice. He said he fears Bill C-16 could lead to legal action against legitimate discussion and research on gender and sexuality, including research on the “biological origins of gender.”

However, a legal expert says the proposed legislation will advance human rights from a practical and symbolic standpoint. “Bill C-16 is important and plays a practical role because it will allow trans people a means with which to seek redress under the law,” said Kyle Kirkup, a professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law who specializes in laws regulating contemporary norms of gender identity and sexuality. “It also plays the symbolic function of letting trans people know that the government recognizes them.”

Dr. Peterson is facing backlash from both the students and even colleagues at the U of T.  Physics Professor, A.W. Peet said that “Peterson is wrong in his assumptions and is failing to live up to his responsibilities as a faculty member. “All that is necessary to invalidate a faulty claim is one counterexample,” said physics professor A.W. Peet. “Here, I am that counterexample. I openly defy Peterson by existing: I am nonbinary and transgender.”

Peet said that, while Peterson has a right to free speech, he is held to a higher standard as a professor, which includes a professional duty of care for the entire student body: “I refuse to stand by and just let him hurt vulnerable genderqueer members of the university community… Academic freedom was never intended to be used as a general-purpose shield against professorial accountability.”

“If Peterson fears the Trudeau government passing Bill C-16 into law, he should smarten up his act by upgrading his ethics circuits, not by trying to marshal opposition to basic human rights protections for people he refuses to even try to understand,” added Peet.

The University of Toronto said there have been no formal complaints about Peterson’s video lecture. “If we do receive any we will consider them through our policies, which are consistent with provincial legislation,” said spokesperson Althea Blackburn-Evans.   “Universities are places where people exchange ideas and have different opinions,” she added. “Discussion and debate happen at U of T every day.”

Blackburn-Evans noted that Professor Peterson’s views are his own, and that “all members of our community are expected to comply with U of T’s policies and guidelines around creating a teaching and learning environment that is free from discrimination and harassment on any of the prohibited grounds.”

                            Dr. Jordan Peterson, University of Toronto

We will post the rest of Dr. Peterson’s video presentations on political correctness.  They are informative, real and we need to become educated.  Good luck to you Dr. Peterson, we will follow your progress closely.