Brown regrets note on sex education curriculum
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative leader is apologizing for a note he has deemed a “mistake,” indicating he would scrap the Liberal government’s sex-ed curriculum if his party claims victory in 2018.
“A letter went out on Friday, to a group in Scarborough-Rouge River, saying I would scrap sex-education,” PC Leader Patrick Brown told Postmedia Newswork during a phone interview Tuesday, about the note distributed last week before a byelection in the east Toronto riding. “I heard about this letter after the fact. I was disappointed. It didn’t reflect my views, so I went to social media to correct it.
“The first time I saw it was in the media,” he said.
Brown said he opted to take it a step further this week, to address the issue in the media, by writing an op-ed published in the
and appearing on radio talk shows to clear the air about his stance on the government’s soonto be instituted sex-ed curriculum.
While some have slammed the PC leader for flip-flopping on the issue, Brown said Tuesday he has publicly raised concerns about how the government introduced the legislation.
“The government did a horrible job when it came to the consultation,” he said. “It didn’t involve parents, but ultimately you have to have sex education.
“I don’t want anyone to say just because I was pushing for more consultation, that means no sexed,” he said, adding that lessons catered to sexuality are necessary to address issues such as LGBT rights, combating homophobia, teen pregnancy and things like understanding consent.
“Criticizing the consultation is one thing, but I’m certainly not in favour of scraping or stopping,” he said. “That’s why the letter went too far.”
Brown said he’s standing by his word in spite of the political price to be paid.
“I didn’t want anyone in Scarborough voting for my candidate under the false assumption that would lead to scraping sex-education,” he said. “That’s why I apologized for the note that the campaign sent out.”
The PC leader said many things outlined in the curriculum are long-overdue, even if he’s critical of the consultation process.
“I’m not taking away sex-ed, but the next time we do an update we’ll do a better job of engaging parents, educators and experts,” he said.
The curriculum, for students in Grades 1 to 12, was last updated in 1998. It has drawn criticism and mixed reviews.
According to the Ministry of Education, updates to the curriculum include healthy relationships, consent, mental health, online safety and the risks of “sexting.” The curriculum has also been revamped to be more reflective of Ontario’s growing and diverse population.
Proper names for body parts will be taught in Grade 1. The first mention of the concept of same-sex relationships will be introduced to students in Grade 3. Grade 6 students will be taught what masturbation is and will learn about healthy relationships and consent. In Grade 7, students will be warned about the risks of “sexting ” and informed about sexually transmitted diseases and oral and anal sex
“The government has made accommodations since the curriculum was brought in,” he said of some amendments, such as allowing parents to opt-out.
Institute for Canadian Values president Charles McVety released a damning statement Monday, slamming Brown for changing his mind several times and went as far as calling the party leader deceitful.
“It is always sad to see a politician be deceitful, but it is especially troubling when he is so brazen that he will flip three times on the same issue,” McVety stated.
Brown campaigned to become Progressive Conservative leader on a pro-family platform, promising to protect children from the radical sex education curriculum of Kathleen Wynne, McVety wrote.
“With another election looming Sept. 1, Brown switched again, writing a letter to constituents affirming his original position of “scrapping” the controversial curriculum,” McVety states. “The wind started blowing in his face so Leader Brown now says his letter was a mistake and he in fact does support Wynne’s curriculum.”
Brown hit back Tuesday, saying it isn’t the first time McVety has taken shots at him.
I’m pro-family,” Brown said. “Saying you’re not pro-family if you want to teach kids sex-education is not right.”
“McVety and his Institute for Canadian Values have been attacking me for a long time,” Brown said, adding that when he marched in the Pride Parade, McVety criticized him then as well.
Brown isn’t pointing fingers, saying “I’m responsible. I’m the leader of the party. I pick staff and campaign officials, so I don’t pass the buck. Obviously this can never happen again. I will do my own work internally to make sure it doesn’t.”