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Sudbury Pride fighting Doug Ford's sex ed. repeal with human rights complaint

Ontario PCs reverting to 1998 sex ed. curriculum for next school year while it comes up with its own version

As Greater Sudbury's queer community celebrated pride week last week, the new Ontario PC government unveiled its plans revert to a 20-year-old version of the sex ed. curriculum until it can do its own revamp.

These plans were a rallying point during Saturday's pride parade in downtown Sudbury, with many carrying signs voicing their opposition to the government's plans.

Sudbury Pride is looking into filing a complaint about changes to the sex ed. curriculum with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

The group also plans to protest in North Bay this coming Saturday during a visit to that city by the province's new premier, Doug Ford.

“If you file a human rights complaint, then they have to respond, and then it just continues to bring attention to the issue,” said Danielle Valcheff, co-chair of Sudbury Pride.

“I feel like it's a human rights violation. In rolling back the sex ed curriculum, it's to a curriculum that's not inclusive given where we're at today. It's discriminatory.”

Ford promised to repeal and replace the 2015 sex ed. curriculum during the PC leadership race and again during the election campaign.

Ontario Education Minister Lisa Thompson announced July 11 that the ministry would scrap the controversial updated version of the sex ed. curriculum brought in by the Liberals in 2015.

That updated curriculum saw protests organized by religious and conservative groups at the time, including in Sudbury.

The previous sex ed. curriculum will be taught in schools as the government consults parents on how to update the curriculum.

“The sex ed. component is going to be reverted back to the manner in which it was prior to the changes that were introduced by the Liberal government,” Thompson is quoted as saying in The Globe and Mail. 

“We’re going to be moving very swiftly in our consultations, and I will be sharing with you our process in the weeks to come.” 

On Sudbury.com's Facebook page, comments were split between people in favour of the PCs' plans and those opposed.

About 50 per cent voted in a July 12 Sudbury.com poll in favour of the change (almost 41 per cent say they're opposed and nine per cent don't care).

However, in a call-out for people who wanted to be interviewed on the issue, we only heard from those strongly opposed to the government's plans, including several associated with the queer community.

Katherine Smith, who's a former chair of Pride Sudbury, didn't mince words, calling it “absolute bull**t.”

She said the 1998 sex ed. curriculum predates gay marriage and the enshrining of trans rights in Canada.

“I don't even understand how you could teach something in school that is in opposition to what our basic human rights are in this country and in this province,” Smith said. “I think that's absurd.”

Queer kids are four times more likely to commit suicide, and that's because they don't see themselves reflected in the world around them.

“Removing them and possibly their families from the curriculum is dangerous,” Smith said. 

“I don't have children, but when I do, I'm going to send them to a school that's not even going to teach them about the family they come from, that isn't even going to validate my relationship with my wife?”

Andrea Desjardins, whose son is a transgender boy entering Grade 9, said he was badly bullied during the past school year, and she ended up homeschooling him.

She said she's already nervous about her child going back to regular school this fall, and changes to the sex ed. curriculum make her even more scared because of its lack of information of gender and sexual diversity.

“I'm worried if the kids don't get the messaging (about these issues) at school and they don't get it at home, it's going to create a really unsafe environment for him,” Desjardins said.

Laurel O'Gorman, a Thorneloe University professor in women's, gender, and sexuality studies, who identifies as lesbian, said she also finds going back to the previous curriculum “really scary.”

That's not only because it doesn't teach about queer issues, but also because of it doesn't touch on issues such as consent or teaching accurate body part names at an early age.

With teens instead learning about relationships from pop culture — remember Edward sneaking into Bella's bedroom to watch her sleep at night in the “Twilight” franchise? — the curriculum change is a big issue, O'Gorman said.

“It's just a decision to make a very few conservative people happy, and it's a really, really bad decision,” she said.

“I think it can increase violence in schools, it can increase bullying, it can increase dating violence and sexual assault. I don't see anything good coming from it.”

Sudbury.com also heard from a few people not associated with the queer community also opposed to the curriculum changes, including Richard Eberhardt.

He's an NDP organizer, former teacher, parent of two elementary school-aged children and chair of the Rainbow District School Board's Parent Involvement Committee.

Eberhardt said his concern with the PCs' plan is some teachers may still cover issues such as consent and queer relationships, but others may not.

Without the 2015 curriculum, teachers might not make the effort to talk about these vital issues.

“What's being created now is an environment where I'm concerned that teachers will be hesitant to teach about things that they think they need to teach,” he said.


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