The new Ontario government’s decision to roll back the province’s sex education curriculum from the version updated in 2015 to the 1998 curriculum has been inspiring a lot of push back.
Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives say the old curriculum will be in place until they can draft a revamped version after consultations with parents.
The 2015 sex-ed curriculum sparked controversy, particularly among social conservatives, when Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government first introduced it. Scrapping the updated curriculum was one of the election promises made by the Tories during the campaign.
New content in the 2015 curriculum included warnings about online bullying and sexting. But social conservatives weren’t happy about discussions of same-sex marriage, gender identity and masturbation.
Supporters of the updated document rallied in Queen’s Park on Saturday to protest its repeal.
They also gathered on Sunday in Ottawa to fight for the updated curriculum and used the hashtag #SexEdSavesLives to push back against the government’s decision online.
Here are some of the best signs from the Ottawa rally:
Twenty years really is a long time. A lot has happened since the old curriculum was put into play.