Peterson invitation angers NDP

The NDP is objecting to an invitation Conservative MPS have extended to psychology professor and author Jordan B. Peterson to testify before the House of Commons justice committee, calling it “irresponsible and morally reprehensible.”

In a statement released Tuesday, NDP MP Tracey Ramsey said the Conservatives are “dangerously pandering to divisive politics instead of standing up for human rights.”

Despite the outcry, Peterson was scheduled to testify Thursday morning as the committee continues its ongoing study into online hate. The committee’s work on the issue came the wake of the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand, which targeted Muslims and killed 51 people.

Late Wednesday Peterson cancelled the appearance, citing a family emergency. It’s not clear when he can reschedule or even if there will be time because the committee’s report is due in early June.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper, one of the committee’s vice-chairs, said the NDP has been aware of the witness list for about a month and had ample opportunity to object to Peterson’s inclusion before it was finalized.

Cooper called the NDP’S statement an obvious effort to play politics, considering that it’s “only on the eve of the committee that the NDP is expressing their outrage.”

Ramsey, another of the committee’s vice-chairs, said that Peterson is “strongly on the wrong side of history,” claiming his views on gender identity and Islamophobia are “inflammatory and dangerous.”

He originally came to prominence for balking at legislation to add gender identity and orientation to the Canadian Human Rights Act, and refused to use preferred pronouns for trans students, arguing it was a form of compelled speech.

Ramsey called on the Liberals to join the NDP in denouncing Peterson and the decision to invite him to the justice committee. Speaking in the foyer of the House Wednesday afternoon before Peterson cancelled, Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault said he was looking forward to holding the professor’s “feet to the fire” at the committee hearing.

Cooper said that a committee invitation does not mean the party approves of everything the speaker says, but pointed out that Peterson is a massively popular bestselling author and a tenured professor at the University of Toronto.

Peterson has said his book has sold about three million copies and is being translated into 50 languages. He is also an occasional contributor to the National Post and has offices in the newspaper’s building, said Postmedia spokeswoman Phyllise Gelfand.

The effort to study online hate comes after a recent jump in incidents noted by Statistics Canada. The 47-percent increase in police-reported hate crimes between 2016 and 2017 was largely a result of a spike in non-violent hate crimes in Canada.