UNIVERSITY ASKS COURT TO DISMISS PETERSON'S LAWSUIT

  At Wilfrid Laurier University, a teaching assistant named Lindsay Shepherd played clips of a Dr. Jordon Peterson appearance on a TVO program for her class. In the video, Peterson argues against the use of non-gendered pronouns.
  It led to an internal controversy, and a blowup over free speech and cancel culture on Canadian campuses. At a meeting in early November 2017 between Shepherd, Nathan Rambukkana, a professor of communications studies, Herbert Pimlott, also a professor of communications studies, and Adria Joel, the acting manager of gendered violence prevention and support at the diversity and equity office at Laurier, Shepherd surreptitiously recorded the exchange, and released the tapes. They were released online, and to the late Christie Blatchford, a National Post journalist. Laurier says in its statement of defence that Shepherd reportedly consulted with Peterson prior to releasing the recording. 

   Peterson, who’s now an emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and a podcaster on the right-wing media website The Daily Wire, as well as an occasional columnist for National Post, sued Wilfrid Laurier University, and the three others in the meeting, arguing the comments made about him in the exchange were defamatory. Peterson, who speaks and writes often of the dangers of cancel culture and threats to free speech, seeks $1.5 million in restitution, according to legal documents.