Anti-sex-ed group says it worked with Brown’s office

A controversial letter in which Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown promised to “scrap” a sex-ed curriculum if elected premier was drafted by his office in an effort to win support in a byelection from a group that opposed the changes, the group’s leader said Tuesday.

Tanya Granic Allen of the group Parents as First Educators (PAFE) said Tuesday that she had discussions with Brown’s office during the recent Scarborough-Rouge River byelection about commitments he could make.

“It is my understanding that this letter originated with involvement and co-operation of Patrick Brown and his office,” Granic Allen wrote in a letter to supporters.

“That Patrick Brown insists he only found out about this final draft — the one with the word ‘scrap’ — after its public release, is not consistent with my understanding of what happened.”

The letter with Brown’s signature — translated in several foreign languages — was distributed to voters in the riding, many of whom opposed the updated sex-ed curriculum, in the days leading up to the Sept. 1 byelection, which the Progressive Conservatives won.

Just days before the vote, Brown said he hadn’t seen the letter, saying the local campaign office had gone “too far.”

On Aug. 10, the day Queenie Yu registered in the byelection as an independent candidate running on an anti-sex-ed platform, Brown’s chief of staff, Nicolas Pappalardo, requested a meeting, according to both Granic Allen and Yu.

At the meeting, which took place the next day, Pappalardo invited Granic Allen to send him her “suggestions of possible commitments that Brown could make which would satisfy PAFE and its supporters.”

Days later, Granic Allen said she received a draft copy of the letter.

The Canadian Press has obtained an email Pappalardo wrote to Yu on the morning of Aug. 18 — more than a week before Brown has said he became aware of the letter — saying the party leader was “prepared to make” a statement that a PC government would introduce a new curriculum.

Granic Allen said Pappalardo contacted her that morning and she said a promise from Brown to “repeal” the curriculum would be the “absolute bare minimum.”

“Throughout the day, Brown’s chief of staff and I went back and forth, with what I was led to believe was direct input from Patrick Brown on language,” she wrote.

Eventually Granic Allen said Pappalardo sent her a new letter using the word “scrap” — the letter that was ultimately distributed in the riding and became public on Aug. 26, the day Brown has said he learned of it.

Pappalardo did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Brown.

But earlier Tuesday, Brown defended a 2015 email that was revealed Monday, in which he privately told a social conservative supporter he would “repeal” the curriculum — a promise he never made publicly.

“It was a topic in the leadership debate and I think fears were exaggerated,” he said.

“I think over time my opinion on that has certainly evolved.”

Brown, who attended anti-sex-ed rallies during the 2015 PC leadership race, said in a statement Monday night that he now believes “significant opposition” to the updated curriculum was rooted in antiLGBT sentiments and he now supports the changes, including lessons on consent, mental health, bullying and gender identity.

The new curriculum included updates such as warnings about online bullying and sexting, but protesters have taken issue with discussions of same-sex marriage, masturbation and gender identity.

A coalition of groups that oppose the curriculum is planning a rally at the legislature Wednesday.