When Ontario Premier Doug Ford first promised he was going to repeal the Liberal government’s sex-education curriculum, he cited a concern for the lack of consultation with parents before the plan was put in place.
Now, as promised, his government is repealing the newer curriculum and mostly replacing it with the sex-ed curriculum that was first taught in 1998. Ford’s stated intention for the switch is to look out for parents. The provincial government later announced a plan to consult with parents across Ontario, when deciding what to include in the new curriculum. According to a statement from the office of the education minister, the consultation will determine whether gender identity, cyber safety, and consent will be included in the curriculum.
In 1998, there was no mention of LGBTQ+ relationships or gender identity in the sex-ed curriculum. At the time, people across the country were still fighting for the legalization of same-sex marriage, and other rights entitled to heterosexual couples but not same-sex couples, such as social and tax benefits.
Most critically, the 1998 curriculum has no conversation around the issue of consent: what it looks like and why it’s important. In an era where the #MeToo movement has dominated recent news, it is essential that this topic be included in the new curriculum.
What the new Ontario government should keep in mind is that reverting to the 1998 sex-ed curriculum will produce children who do not know what consent is, and have no awareness of gender identity and LGBTQ+ relationships. The Ontario government should keep these topics in the sex-ed curriculum.
Children should be taught about the issues that affect them today, which are not included in the curriculum from 1998.
