THUNDER BAY -- Ontario’s new sex-education curriculum goes too far, say some Thunder Bay parents and grandparents, calling on the provincial government to repeal it for religious and moral reasons.
About two dozen sign-wielding protesters gathered in front of MPP Bill Mauro’s Arthur Street constituency office on Wednesday morning, saying the program is age-inappropriate and goes too far, taking the right to teach children about sex away from parents and into the classroom.
Similar protests were held across Ontario.
Across the street about a dozen people in favour of the curriculum staged a counter-protest, showing their support with signs that included the message, “Vagina isn’t a dirty word.”
Bonnie Grootenboer, spokeswoman for the opponents of the updated curriculum, said six-year-olds don’t need to know the proper names for their genitals at that age, and teenagers don’t need to be taught that sex is OK when they feel comfortable.
“A little kindergarten kid doesn’t need to know all about the body parts, said Grootenboer, whose home-schooled grandchildren won’t be taught the new curriculum this fall.
“She doesn’t need to know them by name. She doesn’t need to know vulva. All she needs to know is your private parts are what are under your bathing suit. And if a man, or if someone, touches you under your bathing suit, then you yell for help. That’s what they need. They don’t need to hear about penis and all that.”
As the curriculum advances through middle school, it’s designed to normalize sex, a dangerous approach, she said, adding there is no mention of either love or marriage in the new curriculum, Ontario’s first update of the program in nearly two decades.
“They’re encouraging them and they’re telling them to plan when to have sex and I think in Grade 8 they’ll give them condoms just in case the plans won’t work,” Grottenboer said.
In contrast, Anna Guttman, a parent of two, said she’s strongly in favour of the changes being implemented by the province, starting this week in Ontario school, calling the previous curriculum out-of-date.
“It’s time for us to get in line with the rest of Canada,” The Lakehead University professor said.
Giving in to opponents of the program is harmful to all children,” Guttman said.
“I think the truth is that kids have questions and it’s unrealistic to imagine they’re not thinking about dating, that they’re not thinking about masturbation, that they’re not thinking about consent as they get older, and they need to know,” she said.
“I want kids to learn accurate information in school or else they’ll be getting their information on the Internet.”
Technology is one of the main reasons for the update, said Mauro, backing the province’s decision while promising to bring the opposition group’s concerns to Queen’s Park.
“The suggestion is the Internet is out there and the curriculum has not been updated since 1998,” Mauro said.
“I think most people believe it’s time. We’ve talked to the educators, who get the questions that they can’t answer and they’re looking for guidance on how they can respond to students,” said Mauro.
He scoffed at claims the curriculum wasn’t properly discussed with parents.
“The suggestion this was not properly consulted on is probably not an area of agreement. We have seen probably more consultation on the piece of education curriculum than on any other piece of education curriculum,” Mauro said.
“I hate to seem widely extravagant in my comments, but it was widely consulted on and this is where we’ve landed.”
