Bill 13 to protect free speech of regulated professionals

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Sunny South News

By Cal Braid
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

 On Nov. 20, Alberta’s government passed the first reading of Bill 13: the Regulated Professions Neutrality Act. The Act will draw a boundary that prevents any regulatory body from interfering with the free speech of the professionals within its purview, specifically when the free speech happens in their own free time.

 The bill has been dubbed ‘Peterson’s Law’ after Dr. Jordan Peterson, who was disciplined by the College of Psychologists of Ontario after he made controversial public statements about gender issues in 2016. The CPO tried to mandate Peterson’s participation in an intervention, a move that demonstrated how “regulatory bodies can extend their reach into personal expression rather than professional competence,” the Alberta government said in a Nov. 20 news release.

 “Similar cases involving nurses, engineers and other professionals revealed a growing pattern: individuals facing investigations, penalties or compulsory ideological training for off-duty expressive conduct,” the Province said. “These incidents became a catalyst, confirming the need for clear legislative boundaries that protect free expression while preserving professional standards.”

 The same day, Premier Danielle Smith held a news conference in which she said professionals shouldn’t have to fear losing their licence or career because of a social media post, an interview, or a personal opinion expressed on their own time.

 On Nov. 24, Minister of Justice Mickey Amery held a media roundtable over Zoom to take questions and discuss the matter further, and while Bill 13 could be debated on the basis of endless ‘what if’ scenarios, he made a strong case for its advantages.

 Amery said that 186 regulated professions and designated trades exist in Alberta. Two prominent examples he listed were the Law Society of Alberta and the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

 Amery used Bill 9: the Protecting Alberta’s Children Statutes Amendments Act as a tie-in with the new Bill 13. “Bill 9 was introduced by me, (and) invoked the notwithstanding clause in relation to Bills 26, 27 and 29,” he said.

 “Those three bills were passed last year, and those were all relating to the protection of children in various ways, the first of which was the ban on hormone therapy and surgeries for minors of a particular age. The second was a pronoun policy and parental notification. And the third, of course, was the fairness in sport,” he explained as a refresher of the gender-related bills.

 He said doctors reached out to his office and the premier’s office to say that they wanted to weigh in on the public debate, but were not permitted to do so, or at least felt that they could not do so because of media statements made by the Alberta Medical Association. “The AMA took a position that was contrary to our position,” he said.

 As an example, he said that comprehensive worldwide studies showed potential detrimental and long-term impacts from puberty blockers. A UK study, “which I think is probably the most comprehensive medical study on the planet when it comes to this,” supported Alberta’s position on gender legislation. The jurisdictions of Denmark, Finland, Sweden and New Zealand agreed that the risks of puberty blockers far outweigh the benefits of administering them.”

 “So our position has been, I think, balanced,” he continued. “And I’ll say balance, because we’re saying, let’s pull back a little bit. Let’s hold off. We have significant medical evidence, that this is probably not a good thing, and we certainly don’t know what the long term effects are.”

 Amery said Alberta doctors have reached out to the Province to express their insights on the subject. However, they’ve also said, “In light of what the AMA’s position has been, the consequences of doing so are simply too risky for us, and so we’re going to stay quiet.”

 “When you have medical experts, physicians, doctors and scientists in this province expressing their reluctance to weigh in on a very important public debate, I think that we’re at a loss here in society,” he said. “I think that we are losing the benefit of significant scientific and medical input on this particular topic. Bill 13 will address some of that. Bill 13 will rebalance the disproportionate situation or environment that professionals are dealing with here in this province.”

 Examples of regulated professional industries in Alberta include health and medical, legal and financial, and engineering and architectural. Regulated trades include manufacturing, construction, and the service industry.