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ontario sex ed curriculum
Not all traditionally conservative people are judgmental, sexist or homophobic. They may reject a worldview without God and traditional rules of ethical conduct while being compassionate neighbours and friends.
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.
Alyson Schafer addresses parents' concerns and explains why the sex-ed changes are good for our kids.
The backlash against Ontario's new health curriculum has left many people confused. Is it radical? Are fundamental parental and religious rights being undermined? All parents want to protect their children, but opponents of sex education are inadvertently doing the opposite. Denying children accurate and inclusive information about their bodies, human relationships and sexuality is not protective; it is irresponsible. Without such information, children are unable to care for themselves and grow into healthy and responsible adults.
Tessa and Lia's grade 8 project led to a viral petition, meeting Ontario's Premier and including consent in sex-ed. Just like they asked.
"It's just the basic rules of consent... I don't really get why they could be opposed to that."
A cabinet minister who said something racist or homophobic would almost certainly be fired. The same should hold true for a shadow cabinet member. If the Conservatives at Queen's Park are serious about being a queer-friendly party, symbolism and slacktivism will not cut it. They should discipline MPP Monte McNaughton for his repeated homophobia, and for breaking caucus policy, which is ostensibly in favour of the new sex-ed curriculum. It is important to note that McNaughton is no backbencher; he has the critic portfolio of international trade. He should be striped of his critic portfolio.
Ontario Premier Wynne ascended to power by winning over the small clique of Liberal Party members who can afford leadership conference fees and travel expenses. Both Ontario women and LGBT communities rejoiced at this opportunity to have, for the first time, one their own at the seat of power. People of colour and hijab-wearing Muslim-Canadian women face acute harassment that falls outside the sort explicitly described in Wynne's plan. As a candidate, Wynne reached out to visible minorities on her way to the mountain top. Then she forgot about them.
This much we know: not long ago Dalton McGuinty backed away from proposed changes to Ontario's sexual education curriculum; today, Kathleen Wynne is intent on going ahead with them. What's changed? Both the data and the success stories we see at Change.org suggest women -- in particular young women -- are most adept at tapping into the digital age's potential and that changes everything.
