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Prince George not giving Trudeau a high five ‘a cause for celebration’: educator

British media had fun with the awkward encounter between Prince George and Justin Trudeau over the three-year-old’s refusal to high five the prime minister. But one expert says Trudeau handled it well.

Video of Prince George shaking his head no as Trudeau held up his hand for a high five, a low five and then a handshake was the focus of a lot of coverage when he, his sister and his parents, Prince William and Catherine, landed in Victoria on Saturday for the start of their royal visit.

CBC referred to the “princely snub” as “awkward” and pointed out that George shook Barack Obama’s hand when he met the U.S. president in April.

The Independent said that the prime minister was left hanging by Prince George. The Daily Mail headlined its story “Sorry, one doesn’t high-five with commoners” and wrote that the young prince was “thoroughly unimpressed.”

Even non-Commonwealth media covered the exchange between Trudeau and George. Slate said that Canadians were “shocked” at the prince’s head shaking, and GQ wrote a piece headlined “Justin Trudeau Gets Righteously Owned by Sovereign 3-Year-Old.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kneels to talk to Prince George as his father speaks with Governor General David Johnston upon arrival in Victoria, B.C., on Saturday, September 24, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

“Canadians felt the princely snub acutely, accustomed as they are to seeing their young premier win over millions of fans around the world and attain social media star status,” Reuters wrote.

But for all the mocking, one educator and activist thinks Trudeau handled the situation perfectly by smiling at George and not pushing further.

Toronto teacher Shannon Salisbury, who is developing an educational guide on consent for elementary and high-school teachers, lauded the prime minister for modelling affirmative consent on her Facebook page Creating Consent Culture.

“What Justin Trudeau did with Prince George is to be celebrated: he engaged with a small child and respected the child’s clear refusal,” the post reads. “We have now internationally-circulated video footage of a man modelling affirmative consent with this boy. That is not worthy of mockery, it’s a cause for celebration.”

Talking to and teaching children about consent can begin in infancy, experts say, and that includes respecting children when they refuse touches like hugs (or high fives) whether or not they are well intentioned. These early discussions about respect for bodily autonomy are meant to build a foundation that will stay with children as they get older and begin to have relationships.

Discussions on when and how to teach children about consent have been happening across Canada, in particular in Ontario as debate about its recently updated sex-education curriculum continues.

Last Wednesday Brad Trost, a Saskatchewan MP and Conservative Party federal leadership candidate, compared Ontario’s sex-ed curriculum to residential schools at a protest against the curriculum, which introduces the concept of consent in Grade 2.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has said that the sex-ed curriculum, which begins the consent discussion with teaching that “no means no” and the importance of standing up for oneself, will stay in place.