Juno News - Alberta introduces “Peterson Law” to protect free expression

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith introduced a bill to prevent professional regulators from

00:00:15.600 punishing members for legal off-duty speech, deeming it the Peterson Law, after citing his

00:00:21.240 case before the College of Psychologists of Ontario as an example of overreach. The government

00:00:26.280 is also invoking the notwithstanding clause to shield three major bills tied to parental rights,

00:00:31.740 gender identity, and women's sports. And at the same time, Smith released a detailed video

00:00:37.020 announcing Alberta's new dual practice model for surgeons, a major shift she says will help cut

00:00:42.880 wait times and keep specialists from leaving the province. Meanwhile, recall campaigns continue to

00:00:49.100 intensify across Alberta, and NDP leader Nahid Nenshi is facing criticism for hiring an American

00:00:55.160 political ad firm to craft his latest campaign messaging. All that and more on this week's

00:01:00.200 episode of the Alberta Roundup. I'm Isaac Lamoureux, and let's hop into that first story right away.

00:01:04.980 So Alberta Premier Danielle Smith introduced the Peterson Law to curb professional regulators who

00:01:10.220 punish members for illegal off-duty speech, citing Jordan Peterson's case before the College of

00:01:15.840 Psychologists of Ontario as an example of political overreach. She said, quote,

00:01:20.620 Last year, our government reviewed more than 100 regulated professions to assess whether regulatory

00:01:25.680 bodies were upholding the rights and freedoms of their members. At the time, we indicated that if

00:01:31.340 legislative action was needed, we would take it. And today, we are living up to that promise with

00:01:35.900 what we're calling our Peterson Law. Bill 13, the Regulated Professions Neutrality Act, would prohibit

00:01:42.300 regulators from sanctioning professionals for personal views expressed outside the workplace.

00:01:46.960 Exceptions are narrowly defined, such as the threats of violence, criminal convictions,

00:01:53.060 misuse of professional position, or sexual misconduct. Smith said regulators must stay in

00:01:59.080 the workplace and focus on competence and ethics rather than policing beliefs. The bill was initially

00:02:04.460 foreshadowed last year when Justice Minister Mickey Amory highlighted several national examples of

00:02:09.300 regulatory overreach. These included a Saskatchewan nurse fined $26,000 for criticizing her grandfather's

00:02:16.180 care, a doctor cautioned for objecting to a church's COVID-era communion policy, and Ontario's

00:02:22.180 mandatory statement of principles. He also pointed to the Jordan Peterson case, which of course the

00:02:26.500 government referenced again on Thursday. The Premier said the bill responds to growing concerns that

00:02:31.300 regulators are enforcing ideological conformity. She referenced disciplinary actions taken against

00:02:37.160 professionals across the country, including Peterson, who she said was sanctioned in order to

00:02:41.900 undertake a so-called re-education program in order to maintain his credentials for statements he had

00:02:47.260 made outside of a clinical psychology setting. During the press conference that Smith held at the

00:02:52.440 legislature, she noted that regulated professionals seemingly face no consequences for opposing her

00:02:57.740 government, but said that expressing support for the Alberta UCP was a different story. She said one

00:03:02.860 doctor wrote to the president of the Alberta Medical Association, his union, to express his support for

00:03:07.840 Bill 9, and shortly thereafter, he lost hospital privileges and was forced to take a $5,000 course.

00:03:13.880 Smith read the doctor's text, which said, quote, almost all of us who have stood have endured this kind of

00:03:20.000 treatment. Another doctor texted her, quote, I believe the CPSA, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta,

00:03:25.720 is persecuting me for raising concerns with their ideology. I'm now undergoing mentoring that is costing me

00:03:31.420 almost $10,000 in lost revenue. Smith argued that such cases have created an environment where

00:03:36.680 professionals feel unable to challenge prevailing narratives on major issues. She pointed to various

00:03:41.920 examples during the COVID-19 lockdown, citing claims about mask efficacy and incorrect statements

00:03:47.140 that vaccines would prohibit transmission, both of which, she said, were later contradicted.

00:03:51.800 She said various doctors tried to sound the alarm on these kind of issues. Smith said, quote,

00:03:56.900 I don't fear having a robust discussion where you've got a difference of medical opinion. What I do fear is that

00:04:01.840 there's a narrative that sets in that prevents us from being able to look at science as it evolves,

00:04:05.820 because that's what science is. A thesis, a counter-thesis, and then ultimately, through

00:04:10.380 investigation, we get further and further knowledge. And I believe that by not having that kind of

00:04:15.040 environment, it actually makes us poorer as a society. She cited an even more recent and still

00:04:20.160 developing example, saying that the United States, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom

00:04:25.180 have all taken similar stances as Alberta in banning puberty blockers for children. Amory said the bill

00:04:31.100 also restricts regulators from imposing mandatory cultural, DEI, or ideological training unless it is

00:04:36.800 directly tied to professional competence or ethics. He said, quote, if there is a push or drive from a

00:04:42.620 regulator to impose upon its professionals some sort of political, cultural, or social ideology, and it has

00:04:48.020 nothing that relates to the professional competence or ethics of that individual professional, then it will not be

00:04:54.160 permitted to happen in this province. Smith also targeted DEI. She said that it is, quote,

00:04:59.820 a very highly charged ideological doctrine that teaches a particular perspective about colonialism and white

00:05:06.140 settlement. And you have to ask the question, what are we trying to get to with that? Are we trying to get to a

00:05:11.320 point where we have fairness in hiring and a diversity of people who are hired into positions? Or are we trying to

00:05:17.720 socially engineer some kind of narrative? She further explained that her government was interested in

00:05:22.620 removing any barriers to merit-based hiring. Amory said it was time for regulators to get back to their

00:05:29.040 purpose, regulating professional ethics, competence, and ensuring that doctors are good doctors and

00:05:34.320 lawyers are good lawyers. Nothing extra. But sticking with justice for our next story, we'll look at the

00:05:39.520 notwithstanding clause. This week, Premier Danielle Smith took what she called one of the most consequential 0.88

00:05:45.100 actions of her government, invoking the notwithstanding clause to protect three major bills tied to

00:05:50.300 parental rights, gender policies, and women's sports. Bill 9, the Protecting Alberta's Children's Statutes

00:05:56.780 Amendment Act, applies the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Alberta Bill of Rights,

00:06:02.220 and the Alberta Human Rights Act to various pieces of legislation. The notwithstanding clause is Section 33 of the

00:06:08.320 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It reads, quote, Section 33 allows Parliament or the legislature of a province to

00:06:15.360 derogate from certain sections of the Charter, namely, Section 2, Fundamental Freedoms, Section 7-14, Legal

00:06:21.840 Rights, and Section 15, Equality Rights. It does not apply to democratic rights, Section 3, the right to vote, or Section 4 and 5,

00:06:31.220 the sitting of the House of Commons or other Canadian legislatures, mobility rights, Section 6, or language rights,

00:06:36.620 sections 16 to 23. The clause will be applied to Bill 26, the Health Statute Amendment Act, Bill 27, the Education

00:06:43.700 Amendment Act, and Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act. These bills restrict gender reassignment

00:06:49.820 surgery for minors and prohibit puberty blockers and hormone treatments for those younger than 16 years

00:06:54.900 old. They also require parental consent for children under 16 to change their pronouns or names at school for

00:07:00.780 gender identity reasons. Furthermore, parents must give permission for teaching on gender identity,

00:07:06.500 sexual orientation, or human sexuality. One bill also requires governing bodies for amateur competitive

00:07:12.100 sports to ensure that female leagues are free from intrusion by biological males. Premier Danielle Smith said

00:07:18.520 the legislation responds to three active lawsuits and an injunction blocking part of last year's Health

00:07:23.900 Statute Amendment Act. She said, quote, this government does not turn to the notwithstanding clause unless the

00:07:28.960 stakes warrant it. And in this case, the stakes could not be higher. As for the timing, the government

00:07:34.300 explained that the three challenges before the courts could take years to resolve after appeals.

00:07:39.700 Smith said, quote, these delays are not acceptable to this government when children are in harm's way.

00:07:45.100 She also had a message that she shared for young Albertans navigating their identity. She said, quote,

00:07:50.900 you deserve dignity, understanding, and support. We will never stop working to keep you safe. You belong in Alberta.

00:07:57.120 We firmly believe that. We also believe it's our duty to protect you. This legislation is about

00:08:02.460 your future. So when the time comes, you have every opportunity to make the adult decisions that are

00:08:07.400 rightfully yours and yours alone. Justice Minister Mickey Amory confirmed he expects the clause will

00:08:12.620 halt ongoing court challenges. He said he's been steadfast in saying his government would use every

00:08:18.400 legal and constitutional tool available to protect the well-being of young people. Smith and Amy both

00:08:24.400 explained why the notwithstanding clause exists, with Smith calling Bill 9, quote, one of the most

00:08:29.400 consequential actions our government will take during our time in office. The premier explained that the

00:08:34.500 notwithstanding clause exists to balance the power between courts and the democratically elected

00:08:39.100 government. She added that when courts behave irresponsibly, they should expect legislators to respond 0.76

00:08:44.780 appropriately, such as through the notwithstanding clause. Smith pointed to the recent Supreme Court

00:08:49.140 decision, striking down mandatory minimum sentences for child porn possession as an example. She said,

00:08:54.620 quote, what we're observing is rather than deal with the cases at hand, and in that case, to horrendous

00:08:59.400 pedophiles with graphic, awful images of children, the court decided to pluck a hypothetical case out of

00:09:05.560 the air in order to strike down mandatory sentencing. So I would say that the court should begin to expect

00:09:11.260 that if they're going to make decisions like that, they're going to see more legislatures take the action

00:09:15.760 that we did. Smith added that that decision was five to four, meaning even the court wasn't in full

00:09:20.840 agreement. Amory said, quote, the notwithstanding clause is, and why, it's a tool that elected

00:09:26.740 legislatures use. The notwithstanding clause is integral to the Canadian Charter of Rights and

00:09:31.220 Freedoms and is a vital provincial constitutional right. It's intended to preserve the ability of

00:09:36.640 elected legislatures to make final policy choices in the interests of the public. We've heard from

00:09:41.840 Albertans, and they expect us to deliver on our mandate to protect young people and their families

00:09:46.380 will not apologize for putting our children first. The notwithstanding clause has a five-year

00:09:50.340 limit that can be renewed. The provisions in the Alberta Bill of Rights and the Alberta Human Rights

00:09:54.440 Act do not expire. But for our next story, we'll transition from justice to health. Alberta's biggest

00:10:00.180 healthcare announcement of the year came directly from the Premier, who released a six-minute video

00:10:04.420 outlining what she calls the dual practice model, an overhaul designed to cut wait times and stop

00:10:10.080 surgeons from leaving the province. While I encourage you to watch the video in its entirety

00:10:14.000 on Smith's X page, I'll take you through some of the key points now. Smith began by focusing on the

00:10:18.900 real human cost. She said, quote, waiting for a needed surgery is a painful and often frustrating

00:10:24.080 experience. These are our loved ones, and they need care far faster than they get it now. And make no

00:10:29.520 mistake, this problem is not just found in Alberta. It's as bad or worse in every province across

00:10:35.580 Canada. She said more than 80,000 Albertans are currently waiting for elective surgery and nearly

00:10:40.280 35,000 are waiting longer than clinically recommended. This is despite the province doing

00:10:45.360 a record 318,000 surgeries last year and ranking second in Canada for hip and knee replacement wait

00:10:51.640 times. Smith then explained the core problem. Surgeons max out their publicly funded operating

00:10:56.440 times. She said, quote, let's say our public health system only has enough funding to perform

00:11:01.260 10,000 knee replacement surgeries in a year, but the wait list is over 20,000. Once the surgeons have

00:11:06.620 performed those 10,000 publicly funded surgeries, they can't perform anymore, leaving 10,000 people

00:11:12.680 still on the wait list and well-trained surgeons not performing as many surgeries as they otherwise

00:11:17.280 could. So a question that might come to mind is why doesn't the province just spend more? Smith said

00:11:21.940 that's been tried for decades nationwide and that over 40% of the province's budget is on healthcare

00:11:27.200 spending. So she said spending more money simply is not working. She said healthcare systems in

00:11:32.720 France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, and more have figured it out and it's

00:11:38.820 time for Alberta to get on board. So with the new dual practice model where surgeons will commit to a 0.60

00:11:43.740 minimum amount or ratio of publicly funded surgeries each year to qualify, here's how Smith described the

00:11:48.740 model. Surgeons can perform both publicly funded and private pay surgeries. Private surgeries can occur

00:11:55.000 after hours or on weekends. Surgeons must commit to a minimum ratio of public surgeries. No public

00:12:01.340 dollars can subsidize private procedures. Cancer and emergency surgeries must remain fully public

00:12:06.860 and the public healthcare guarantee will stay fully in force. She explained that if a surgeon was limited

00:12:12.400 to a thousand surgeries in a year due to funding constraints, they could perform two or 300 more

00:12:17.380 for patients who can afford the surgeries or have insurance plans that cover the cost. She said

00:12:22.060 everyone would benefit from the system, explaining that those who are able and willing can pay for

00:12:26.840 their surgery and come off the waitlist with no cost to taxpayers. Smith said, quote, that means

00:12:32.240 everyone on the waitlist moves up in the queue so that they also get their publicly insured surgery done

00:12:37.460 quicker than they otherwise would. And surgeons and other specialists remain in the public system,

00:12:42.400 but are happier because they get to perform more surgeries should they want to, which in turn leads to

00:12:47.260 fewer of these doctors leaving Alberta and attracting back others who have previously left

00:12:52.180 for better opportunities elsewhere. And again, she emphasized that the UCP public health guarantee

00:12:57.540 would remain fully in force, promising that nobody will ever be forced to pay out of pocket for a

00:13:02.920 necessary surgery and that everything currently covered by Alberta health insurance will remain

00:13:07.180 so. She said that the main change will be that you will likely get public surgery faster than you do now.

00:13:12.400 She concluded by saying, quote, it's time to follow the lead of other high performing health systems in

00:13:16.960 Western Europe and Japan and build a modern, innovative and 21st century health system that

00:13:21.680 attracts and retains the best doctors working in the best facilities on earth. Because health care

00:13:26.060 shouldn't be about blind and outdated ideologies or politics. It should be about providing all

00:13:30.820 Albertans with access to the best health care possible when and where they need it. And that's

00:13:35.220 exactly what Alberta's government is going to do. The NDP has run a hit ad campaign on this,

00:13:39.640 calling it US style health care. But I'll just say, watch the video and look at what's in it

00:13:43.820 yourself and make the decision because it's more European style than US.

00:13:48.540 But for our next story, we'll move over to the recall operation targeting the Alberta UCP government.

00:13:53.780 Around two dozen UCP MLAs are now facing recall campaigns or the threat of them across Alberta

00:13:58.720 in what the premier calls a coordinated effort to overthrow the government.

00:14:02.800 When I wrote the article earlier this week, Operation Total Recall listed 24 MLAs currently in some stage of

00:14:08.640 recall activity, which has now fallen to 23. Two petitions are already in the signature gathering

00:14:13.600 phase. Additionally, 10 MLAs are listed as initial paperwork approved, five as initial paperwork

00:14:19.720 submitted, five, including the premier, are listed as targeted, and one MLAs recall status is listed as

00:14:26.160 organizing. The group describes itself as a hub for information and tools rather than a campaign

00:14:30.640 organizer, stating on its homepage that it supports citizen-led efforts. However, the group says it is

00:14:36.360 specifically targeting the 44 Alberta United Conservative Party MLAs who supported using the

00:14:41.500 notwithstanding clause to send teachers back to work. During question period, NDP leader and head

00:14:46.020 Nenshi said that one third of the UCP caucus is under threat of recall, accusing Smith of turning against

00:14:51.740 a process she once supported. Smith fired back, saying that other jurisdictions have highlighted the

00:14:57.060 legislation's intent to remove elected officials derelict in their duties. She said, quote,

00:15:02.440 It was not intended to have unions weaponize it to bus people in and put GoFundMes online in order to be

00:15:08.820 able to topple the sitting government. That's what elections are for. Recall organizers are already

00:15:13.760 collecting signatures against Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides in Calgary-Bow and Airdrie East

00:15:19.100 MLA Angela Pitt. For both ridings, the signature targets are based on Election Alberta's new 60% rule

00:15:24.940 for recall petitions. Nicolaides' recall petition was approved on October 14th. He submitted a statement in

00:15:31.700 response on October 21st, and the petition was issued on October 23rd. Signatures can be collected

00:15:37.520 until January 21st, 2026. Pitt's was approved on October 22nd. She did not offer a statement within

00:15:43.940 the week thereafter, and the petition was issued on November 5th. Signatures can be collected for her

00:15:49.200 until February 3rd, 2026. Thanks to recent changes implemented by the Alberta government, the recall act

00:15:55.800 now requires that petitions be signed by 60% of votes cast in the district's most recent election.

00:16:00.880 up from the formally required 40% of all registered electors. Nicolaides' recall petition will require

00:16:07.780 16,006 verified signatures, while Pitt's will need 14,813. Elections Alberta stresses that all

00:16:15.160 signatures must be collected using official forms and witnessed by registered canvassers. Only original

00:16:20.000 physical signatures are valid, and digital or online signatures will not be accepted. Signatories must

00:16:24.740 also have lived in the electoral district for at least three months before signing, legibly print their

00:16:29.340 name, address, and contact information and sign only once. The rules also require canvassers to live in

00:16:35.240 the riding and swear affidavits confirming signatories were eligible electors. Every signature must be

00:16:40.740 witnessed by a canvasser. These efforts are the first major test of Alberta's overhauled recall regime.

00:16:46.100 If any recall petition reaches the 60% signature mark and survives verification, the lieutenant governor

00:16:50.960 and council will order a recall vote within four months. If more than 50% of electors who vote on

00:16:56.220 the recall questions say an MLA should be recalled, they will lose their job and a by-election will be

00:17:00.600 held. For our last story today, we'll look at a controversial decision from Nenshi because Alberta

00:17:05.280 NDP leader Nahed Nenshi is facing backlash after the CBC revealed that his newest political ad was

00:17:11.600 produced by a Democratic consulting agency based in New York. The firm, Fight Agency, was created in January

00:17:17.500 2025 and staffed by senior Democratic strategists. The agency has previously crafted ads for US

00:17:24.040 politicians including Bernie Sanders, Zohan Mamdani, and a lengthy list of US Democrats. The firm says it

00:17:30.740 helps candidates ready to fight the toughest battles in politics and promises sharp messaging and the next

00:17:36.140 great iconic ad. But after Nenshi released the video and this was revealed, he was subject to a lot

00:17:41.700 of criticism online. For example, former conservative candidate Saeed Ahmed said, quote,

00:17:47.260 unbelievable. Nahed Nenshi just hired an American ad agency for his image makeover, spending our

00:17:52.800 Canadian dollars in the US. What happened to elbows up? Buy Canadian? Pure hypocrisy. If the conservatives

00:17:59.320 did this, the media would explode. Absolutely double standards. Another user criticized the agency's US

00:18:06.180 political ties. He said, quote, the CBC caught NDP Nahed Nenshi spending Canadian dollars in the US for

00:18:12.780 his big image makeover. Which firm did he choose? The ad agency was socialist New York Mayor Zohan

00:18:18.480 Mamdani. What happened to buy Canadian? Elbows up. A third user pointed to Nenshi's staffing choices. He

00:18:24.480 said, quote, Nenshi hired the same ad agency that Mamdani used. In America, his chief of staff, the driving

00:18:30.860 force behind this new ad campaign was chief of staff to Liberal Ministers Mark Miller and Edmonton's

00:18:36.900 Amarjeet Sohi. If conservatives did this, there would be a meltdown of epic proportions. What happened

00:18:42.540 to we don't need American-style politics in this country? The hypocrisy. Fight agency's team includes 0.95

00:18:47.860 consultants who have run Senate battleground media operations, Democratic war rooms, presidential primary

00:18:53.640 ad programs, and national communication strategies for US political organizations such as Planned Parenthood.

00:19:00.260 Several partners have won national awards for Democratic advertising and have led multi-million

00:19:07.000 dollar campaigns across the United States. The agency has also run hit ads against US President

00:19:13.080 Donald Trump. But that wraps up this week's Alberta Roundup. My name's Isaac Lamoureux. Have a great

00:19:17.580 weekend. Thank you and God bless.

Juno News - November 23, 2025

Alberta introduces “Peterson Law” to protect free expression

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