There’s no point whining about the left’s capture of institutions if you’re not prepared to take them back.

The Alberta government has proposed a review of professional regulatory bodies and how to better protect the right to free expression. In a video announcing the review, to be followed by new legislation next year, Premier Smith said, “What a doctor or lawyer believes or says about politics or religion is not a reflection of their competency to practice medicine or law.”

We don’t have details yet about what this review or legislation will look like, but Premier Smith is absolutely correct to be concerned with the expanded claims by professional regulators to police the off-duty and non-practice related speech of their members. To be clear, these proposals are not restricting the power of regulators to discipline doctors who claim vaccines contain 5G microchips, or accountants who sexually harass clients, or lawyers who hire private surveillance to stalk judges in their cases. This is about regulators claiming authority to silence the political, cultural, social, and religious opinions of their members.

I’ve written extensively on the topic of free speech and professional regulation, including in a paper published by the MacDonald Laurier Institute. Every Canadian has a constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression, including those in regulated professions. Many Canadians are part of regulated professions and have felt the chill of saying things that may be unpopular, even when unrelated to their professional work as a doctor, lawyer, nurse, or accountant.

This is an essential legislative step that needs to be duplicated here, and it needs some teeth: high dollar penalties for regulators that abuse their power, and restitution to the wrongly targeted.