Blowing whistles and waving signs, Ontario鈥檚 elementary school teachers descended on Queen鈥檚 Park to protest the Progressive Conservative government鈥檚 decision to return to a decades-old sex-ed curriculum.
Following its annual meeting at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto this morning, members of the Elementary Teachers鈥� Federation of Ontario (ETFO) took to the sidewalks to voice their objection to Premier Doug Ford鈥檚 divisive plan to repeal the current sex-ed curriculum introduced by the provincial Liberals in 2015 and revert to a previous version first developed in 1998.
At issue for opponents of the current lesson plan is the inclusion of topics such as same-sex marriage, gender identity and masturbation. The 2015 curriculum also addresses other concepts such as consent, cyber safety, bullying, and LGBTQ rights.
In July, Ford鈥檚 government announced it would follow through with its campaign promise to scrap the current sex-ed curriculum. In its stead, the Tories intend to revert to the 1998 lesson plan while consultations with parents and teachers are conducted throughout the province.
During the Tuesday morning meeting, ETFO leaders and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath argued the Tories鈥� plan would compromise student safety and urged ETFO鈥檚 60,000 members to continue teaching the current sex-ed curriculum come September.
鈥淒oug Ford wants to drag our schools backwards, in fact, in the few weeks he鈥檚 been in power, he鈥檚 already started dragging them back,鈥� Horwath told delegates on Tuesday. 鈥淗e鈥檚 taking our curriculum back to the last century and he鈥檚 hurting Ontario鈥檚 most vulnerable youth in the process.鈥�
Sam Hammond, the union鈥檚 president, told CTV Toronto that EFTO is prepared to do 鈥渨hatever is necessary鈥� to defend its members who defy the government鈥檚 directive in the classrooms.
鈥淲e intend to and will defend our members in any way that we need to on a go-forward basis,鈥� he told 麻豆影视 Channel during the protest. 鈥淲e are advising them to use their professional judgement, that鈥檚 enshrined in our collective agreements and ministry documents, to teach any or all parts of the 2015, the current modern curriculum.鈥�
Hammond said that approximately a thousand of the union鈥檚 members, along with other community groups and parents, participated in the protest on Queen鈥檚 Park. He said the union would like to see the dispute resolved as soon as possible; but in the meantime, he thinks the current curriculum should stay in place.
鈥淒on鈥檛 cause all of this chaos. Leave it in place,鈥� he urged the Tories. 鈥淒o your consultations and we鈥檒l move forward together.鈥�
Tensions flare in question period
The debate also spilled over into the legislature when a heated exchange between Horwath and Ford took centre stage during the summer session鈥檚 final sitting.
Horwath slammed Ford for putting students at risk by not educating children about bullying and online safety.
In response, Ford pivoted to the topic of Ontario students鈥� math scores lagging behind those in other provinces.
To which Horwath responded with: 鈥淚f they have been raped or bullied, math won鈥檛 matter very much to them will it?鈥�
During the campaign, Ford vowed on numerous occasions to repeal the current sex-ed curriculum because he said parents had not been adequately consulted on it. The premier has also promised to replace the existing teaching plan with one that is 鈥渁ge-appropriate.鈥�
With files from CTV Toronto and The Canadian Press
