I have never seen -- in my humble observation -- a politician flip-flopping the way the Ontario Progressive Conservative leader has done, where at one point he sends a letter about a major proposal if elected and then reversing his position 180 degrees a few days later.
PC Leader Patrick Brown is making a hard turn, as reported in the Globe and Mail, after promising to scrap Ontario's Liberal government's new sexual-education curriculum on the eve of a close-fought Toronto by-election.
In a letter addressed "Dear Parents" and dated this week, Mr. Brown pledged to kill the curriculum.
"I believe parents are the primary educators of their children. When it comes to sexual health education, parents should have a say on how much their children are taught, and at what age," Mr. Brown writes in the letter. "Upon being elected, a PC government would scrap the controversial changes to sex-ed introduced by Premier Kathleen Wynne."
And then a few days later, he took a dramatic turn and came up with a completely opposite stance to what he had proposed. He was like an animal using camouflage to change his appearance for survival purposes.
In a Toronto Star opinion piece, he wrote:
"It was a mistake for a letter to go out to Scarborough-Rouge River voters saying that I would "scrap" the updated curriculum. This is not my view. This is not what I will do. In fact, the opposite is true. I apologize.
I strongly support an updated curriculum that takes into account changing attitudes and the world in which children now dwell. They are being asked to understand challenging topics in ways their parents were not. It is important to have sex education to combat homophobia, and raise important issues like consent, mental health, bullying, and gender identity. The world has changed and so should the curriculum."
It is irresponsible for a high-rank politician to flip-flop in this manner. It undermines his credibility and competence as a leader of a political party, who hopes to one day become premier of Ontario.
I can't find an excuse for Mr. Brown. His action reminds me of his fellow Conservative in the U.S. who has been changing his policies according to where the winds flow.
It was not an ambiguous statement Mr. Brown said that he later retracted as it happens with politicians. Sometimes one could be caught up in the heat of the moment and says something without thinking about it.
Mr. Brown must have put enough thought and effort in his letter about his proposal to cancel the same sex education curriculum. Then all of a sudden he surprised everyone by reversing his thoughts altogether on the controversial issue.
I would not be comfortable with a leader of such competence. I cannot trust a politician who conducts himself in this unpredictable manner.
I don't think he has the true qualities, determination and focus of a stable leader.
As a matter of fact, it scares me that such a flip-flopping politician could be trusted in high office. I would not even trust him to take care of my cows let alone run a province.
I wonder what was his strategic plan in saying one thing and then changing his mind all of a sudden. Has he used the sex ed curriculum as a bait and switch, realizing he would rather focus on the bigger fish?
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