Many Alberta workers in regulated professions could no longer be investigated by their licensing bodies for what they say outside of work hours, should the legislature pass a new bill.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery introduced the Regulated Professions Neutrality Act, also called Bill 13, in the legislature on Thursday, a year after saying the government was scrutinizing regulators for overreach affecting free speech.

“When regulators begin disciplining people for simply speaking their mind on their own time, that's overreach — and at its worst, becomes an outright threat to free expression,” Premier Danielle Smith said at a news conference Thursday morning.

Health law experts say such rules would exacerbate the spread of medical misinformation and put professional regulation in Albert

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