Jordan Peterson on law: what the evidence says · JRE #877

What the evidence says 01 / RECORD

In October 2016 the Canadian government reformed the federal judicial appointments process, introducing a Questionnaire for Federal Judicial Appointments that invites candidates to self-identify their gender, Indigenous status, disability status, and membership in a racialized, ethnic, or cultural group. The government's own published statistics page states this disclosure is voluntary, not a mandatory requirement to be considered for appointment. Separately, the reforms directed Judicial Advisory Committee members to attend an information session covering unconscious bias, diversity, and assessment of merit before reviewing candidates, and required the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs to publish annual demographic statistics based on that voluntary disclosure. Peterson's description of a mandatory dossier that candidates "have to produce" specifying their identities overstates a process that is, per the government's own materials, optional self-identification collected for statistical and diversity-tracking purposes rather than an eligibility gate. His claim that committee members undergo bias-related training before serving is accurate; his claim that candidates must disclose identity categories to be considered is misleading.