Prof Peterson himself brought up this point earlier today, but the way Prof Rambukkana and his cohorts used the mere existence of C-16 to intimidate Shepherd illustrates a problem. The National Post discussed the issue with some legal experts who concluded that C-16 wasn't relevant to Shepherd's situation because it was under provincial jurisdiction, and that probably nothing Shepherd did was in violation of the Ontario human rights law. But how was she supposed to know any of that? She's not a lawyer, she didn't have a lawyer with her to advise her that they weren't telling the truth on that matter... she's a student being told "you've broken the law here". Peterson was proven right, despite the assurances from his critics that the law couldn't actually be used in the way he predicted.
The part where they talk about the "Gendered Violence" policy to Shepherd reads almost like an excerpt from a Monty Python skit:
Rambukkana: Do you understand how what happened was contrary to, sorry Adria, what was the policy?
Joel: Gendered and Sexual Violence.
Rambukkana: — Gendered and Sexual Violence Policy. Do you understand how —
Shepherd: Sorry, what did I violate in that policy.
Joel: Um, so, gender-based violence, transphobia, in that policy. Causing harm, um, to trans students by, uh, bringing their identity as invalid. Their pronouns as invalid — potentially invalid.
Shepherd: So I caused harm?
Joel: — which is, under the Ontario Human Rights Code a protected thing so something that Laurier holds as a value.
Shepherd: Ok, so by proxy me showing a YouTube video I’m transphobic and I caused harm and violence? So be it. I can’t do anything to control that.
Rambukkana: Ok, so that’s not something that you have an issue with? The fact that that happened? Are you sorry that it happened?
Shepherd: I know in my heart, and I expressed to the class, that I’m not transphobic and if any of them — again, I don’t know what they said — but I don’t think I gave away any kind of political position of mine. I remained very neutral, and uh—
Rambukkana: —that’s kind of the problem.
At this point I'm expecting John Cleese to show up and explain that they need to take her liver.
And this part just kind of left me speechless:
Rambukkana: These are very young students, and something of that nature is not appropriate to that age of student, because they don’t have …
Shepherd: 18?
Rambukkana: Yes.
Shepherd: They’re adults.
Rambukkana: Yes, but they’re very young adults. they don’t have the critical toolkit to be able to pick it apart yet. This is one of the things we’re teaching them, so this is why it becomes something that has to be done with a bit more care.
Seriously? Seriously???
-k