Ontario sex-ed protests return in time for new school year

Community members demonstrate province-wide


Parents angry at the new sex-ed curriculum protested at MPP offices across Ontario Wednesday, Sept 2 — with some protests better attended than others.

The province-wide demonstrations, sponsored by a coalition of organizations including Campaign Life Coalition, REAL Women of Canada and the Thorncliffe Parents Association, are just the latest in a series of actions by a nebulous group of community members who have various concerns about the updated sex ed curriculum.

Under the updated curriculum, students in all four publicly-funded school systems will learn the correct terminology for body parts, including genitalia, and explore why differences like gender identity and sexual orientation make people unique. The updated curriculum will also cover online bullying, consent and safe sex.

Outside of several MPP’s offices, dozens of people gathered to protest, though one protest was met by counter-demonstrators.

However, at MPP Glen Murray’s office, adjacent to the Church-Wellesley Village, no protest ever materialized, with only four people stopping outside the building to see if they could join a demonstration.

Sean Hart didn’t know how many people were planning to come to the protest outside Murray’s office. “I just feel they should be teaching reading, writing and arithmetic; they shouldn’t be delving into this,” he said, before leaving.

HG Watson is Xtra's former Toronto news reporter.

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Power, News, Sex education, Education, Toronto

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