TORONTO (LifeSiteNews) — Hundreds of Canadians came together on Wednesday afternoon protesting in front of the Ontario College of Psychologists building to show their support for truth advocate Jordan Peterson after the college said he must undergo social media “retraining.”
The protest in support of Peterson included well over 200 people. The event, at which LifeSiteNews was on the ground, did not include an appearance by Peterson himself.
However, at the site were canceled Canadian Dr. Mary O’Connor, PPC leader Maxime Bernier and other Canadian freedom advocates such as Dr. Rochagné Kilian and former Ontario MPP Rick Nicholls.
Pro-freedom and anti-lockdown Pastor Henry Hildebrandt was also in the crowd to lend his support.
Despite the visible Toronto police presence with 20 or so officers on the sidewalk, protesters remained peaceful throughout the event.
One protester, who chose to not reveal her name but agreed to a video interview, told LifeSiteNews that Peterson is one of her “best sources of truth,” adding that she “binge” watches many of his videos.
“I always feel his compassion for humanity and truth, and just caring about regular people. He is very outspoken,” she said.
Last Tuesday, Peterson, a best-selling author and psychologist, tweeted that the Ontario College of Psychologists had demanded that he “submit [himself] to mandatory social-media communication retraining.” Failure to do so would mean a suspension of his license, the organization said.
Peterson noted that he had been accused of causing harm to “people” but that none of these persons were his clients.
He believes he is being targeted for speaking out against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and supporting the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) under Pierre Poilievre.
Protest speakers: Just say ‘no’ to cancel culture and attacks on freedoms
The overall main message from the speakers was one of standing up for Canadians’ charter-guaranteed rights and freedoms, as well as continuing to “just say no” to cancel-culture threats on freedom-based professionals.
Bernier spoke of the need to stand up for Peterson as well as the freedoms of Canadians in general.
“We are here today in support of yes, Jordan Peterson, but also in support of all these courageous Canadians who are silenced, sanctioned or lost their job because of their words, because of their convictions,” Bernier said.
“Regulating professionals like psychologists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and lawyers. All of these people, all these people fight for us. And we are here to defend openly with passion and determination of freedom, to express our own opinions against those who censors and oppose against the leftist orthodoxy.”
Bernier emphasized that “freedom is what unites us today.”
“As you know, without freedom, there is no human dignity, equality of rights and economic prosperity,” he added.
“Freedom is the foundation of our civilization. So, if you want to turn a free country into an authoritarian one, how would you do it? What is the first reason you will curtail? What is the first freedom? Yes, freedom of speech. Freedom to speak your mind. Freedom of expression. Because freedom of speech is the most basic of our freedoms, and that’s why it is protected in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
Peterson recently posted on Twitter the demands from the psychologists’ group regarding his “re-education.”
About these demands, Peterson said, “I have formally indicated my refusal to comply.”
Poilievre recently defended Peterson, saying the Ontario College of Psychologists’ decision to mandate he be retrained on social media or lose his license is something that “should not” happen in Canada.
Peterson has promised that he will ensure that all “allegations and my responses as public as possible while abiding by the ethical and legal restrictions on doing so (and least insofar as those rules are clear and commensurate with truth and a reasonable defence.)”
Earlier this week, Peterson told Canadians to “wake up.”
“Wake up, citizens: professionals are now required to hold their tongue if they believe anything politically verboten. For all you leaning to the left — sometimes validly: these precedents will eventually be weaponized by those who stand opposed to you,” he tweeted.