Alberta government to review laws protecting professionals' freedom of expression
The Alberta government is considering legislative changes to protect the freedom of expression for regulated professionals, responding to growing concerns that professional regulatory bodies may be overreaching in limiting individual speech and imposing compulsory training unrelated to professional practice.
This fall, the government will launch an engagement process to hear directly from regulated professionals, with the goal of ensuring that professional regulatory bodies focus on overseeing professional competence and conduct, rather than restricting members' rights and freedoms.
"Freedom of expression is a bedrock in a democratic society," said Premier Danielle Smith. "We are committed to standing up for Albertans' freedom and ensuring that they are not coerced into self-censorship by threats from their regulatory bodies."
Justice Minister Mickey Amery echoed these concerns, noting that professionals have faced complaints and even disciplinary action for expressing personal beliefs unrelated to their work.
"This situation could lead to self-censorship and infringe on their ability to speak freely," Amery said. "We are initiating this review to safeguard members' rights and freedoms."
The review will gather input from regulated professionals, their governing bodies, and other stakeholders, focusing on whether regulatory oversight is extending beyond professional competence into areas such as free expression, unrelated training, and vexatious complaints.
It will also consider how to protect professionals who hold multiple roles.
The review will encompass 118 regulated professions governed by 67 regulatory bodies across 11 ministries in Alberta. The government aims to ensure that regulations strike the right balance between upholding professional standards and protecting civil liberties.
UN Climate Summit blocks Rebel News — again
Sheila Gunn Reid discusses how the United Nations refused to allow Rebel News into its climate change conference in Brazil despite an email claiming Rebel News was accredited.
The United Nations climate conference in Belém, Brazil, is underway — and, in true UN fashion, it took all of ten minutes for the hypocrisy to hit us in the face.
For the first time in nine years, Rebel News was officially accredited to enter the conference grounds. We got the approval emails. We got our work visas. We flew half way around the world. We went to pick up our badges. Then the bureaucrats did what UN bureaucrats always do when a climate heretic gets too close: they found a problem.
Suddenly, our accreditation “didn’t allow” us inside the main venue — the pavilions, media rooms, and meeting halls packed with activists, diplomats, and 55,000 carbon-burning delegates who flew halfway around the world to lecture ordinary people about their energy use.
But somehow, we were ...
