Quoting 18th-century French writer Voltaire, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has defended clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson’s right to free speech.
In a video recorded outside while walking, and tweeted on his own account, Poilievre says while he doesn’t necessarily agree with all of Peterson’s views, he does support free speech in Canada.
“Now, it should go without saying that in a free country, a professional should not lose their jobs and licenses because they express a political opinion contrary to the licensing body that’s mandated by the government.” Poilievre said in the video.
“But of course, in saying this, my liberal critics in the media will, of course, say, ‘Well, Poilievre agrees with freedom of speech from someone like Dr. Peterson, therefore, he must endorse everything Dr. Peterson has ever said.’ Well, of course not. I don’t endorse 100% of everything anyone has ever said.”
Poilievre’s comments come after the Ontario College of Psychologists told Peterson he must either undergo retraining for social media etiquette or lose his licence following a number of complaints from those who don’t like his online posts, including a retweet of a Poilievre post and a criticism of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I’m sure there is something he’s posted that I do object to,” Poilievre continued.
“But that is not the point because freedom of speech only matters when you disagree. I mean, if we all agreed, we wouldn’t need freedom of speech because no one has ever tried to censor someone for saying something that they agree with. It is only when there is a disagreement that it matters.”
“And that’s what distinguishes Canada, a free country, from dictatorships,” he added.
However, Poilievre did say that in Canada, because of “the cancel culture and the woke movement, we’ve seen at university campuses and in the media and now increasingly in big, powerful corporations, and most recently with a professional licensing body, we’re seeing the idea that someone can lose their job, their status, their ability to study because they express something that is contrary to the government line. Now, I don’t believe that is the Canada we want.”
Poilievre ends by pointing to Section 2-B of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees freedom of expression.
“2-B or not 2-B? That is the question,” Poilievre said. “And the answer is that, as Voltaire has been quoted as saying, ‘I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it.’”
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