The Alberta government has tabled legislation that will limit professional regulatory bodies from disciplining workers for expressive off-duty conduct. Bill 13, the Regulated Professions Neutrality Act, protects lawful and off-duty free speech of doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers and other regulated professionals. “Our aim is to uphold professionals’ rights and freedoms while continuing to protect the public interest so that both public confidence and professional integrity are maintained,” said Premier Danielle Smith at a press conference Thursday. “No professional should fear losing their licence, their reputation or their livelihood because of a personal opinion, a social media post, an interview or open dialog outside of working hours.” The premier called the bill “the Peterson Law” after psychologist Jordan Peterson, who faced disciplinary proceedings by the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO) following comments he had made on social media. Complaints listed in the case include the denial of Nazi or white supremacy culture in Canada, misgendering actor Elliot Page and referring to the surgeon who performed his top surgery as a “criminal,” making derogatory comments about a plus-sized Sports Illustrated model, and comments made on Joe Rogan’s podcast about COVID-19, climate change and other topics. Peterson was ultimately ordered to pay CPO $5,000 in costs and to take social media training by Ontario’s top court. The UCP bill will also restrict mandatory training unrelated to competence or ethics, such as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training. “Let’s be frank, DEI is a very highly charged ideological doctrine that teaches a particular perspective about colonialism and white settlement,” said Smith. “Are we trying to get to a point where we have fairness in hiring and a diversity of people who are hired into positions, or are we trying to socially engineer some kind of narrative?” Justice Minister Mickey Amery said The Path course made mandatory for Alberta lawyers would likely not have been implemented under Bill 13. The Path is an Indigenous cultural competency course consisting of five modules on the history and contemporary realities of First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada. “Many lawyers have expressed their concern about whether or not it relates to what they do,” said Amery. “A real estate lawyer doesn’t necessarily have a whole lot of need to go through a course on various issues relating to social or cultural context. “It’s difficult for me to speculate on what might have happened, but my inkling is that it probably would not have been (implemented) because of the nature of the course and the nature of whether or not it’s relevant to the work that lawyers do, necessarily,” he said. Additionally, the legislation will establish a consistent standard of review for courts and internal appeal bodies when there are judicial reviews or appeals of decisions on matters related to the act. “This bill restores balance,” said Amery. “It ensures that regulatory bodies remain focused on what really matters most: competence, ethics and serving the public while guaranteeing that professionals retain their fundamental freedoms as citizens.” The province said it conducted a review of professional regulatory bodies last fall that included engagement with more than 100 regulated professions across multiple sectors to inform the legislation.
