Parents protest sex-ed curriculum at MPPs’ offices

September 14, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
With another school year starting this week, a lot of attention is being paid to the new sex-ed curriculum.
Rallies were held last Wednesday outside the constituency offices of MPPs all over the province, including Dufferin-Caledon’s Sylvia Jones. The protests were organized by Campaign Life Coalition.
Rev. Roy Trepanier, executive director of Ezra Canada, was leading the small protest outside Jones’ Bolton office.
He was not pleased with a number of points in the curriculum, pointing to a flyer issued by the coalition that cited “examples of controversial curriculum content.”
One of the items he mentioned was discussing genitalia and sexual consent with Grade 1 students.
“This is all the most horrible thing,” he said. “A child’s mind isn’t even developed.”
“It’s organized mind control of youth,” he added.
Other points the coalition object to, according to the flyer, is the teaching of gender theory in Grade 3, encouragement of masturbation to Grade 6 students and discussing matters like anal intercourse, oral sex and sexual pleasure with Grade 7 students.
Attendance at the protests was encouraged by the Canadian Families Alliance, which issued a statement Friday.
“We are very pleased with the attendance and coverage of nearly every MPP’s office,” stated Jotvinder Sodhi, president of HOWA Voice of Parents. “We will keep growing parental opposition in every riding until the 2018 election to make this a ballot question. MPPs must choose what they value more: Keeping their jobs by standing up for the rights of parents, or blind obedience to a party leader who insults and attacks the voters she claims to represent.”
Trepanier was disappointed more people weren’t out at the Bolton rally. There was himself, his wife Mariette and the two young daughters of friends. “There should be a mob here,” he declared.
“I’m not pleased with what Kathleen Wynne is doing on this sex-ed thing,” he added. “I just hate what they’re doing.”
Jones wasn’t upset at the protests outside both her offices (she said about half a dozen people were at he constituency office in Orangeville).
“I’ve said from the beginning that parents need to be part of the consultations,” she said, adding she’s been collecting comments from parents in the riding and forwarding them to Education Minister Liz Sandals.
“It’s actually not legislation,” Jones added. “It’s not regulation. It’s curriculum changing. There are no votes. There’s no debate.”
She added all parents can do it make their concerns known to the minister, and she’s been working to facilitate that.