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Tell us: What do you think of Ford's decision to revert back to old sex-ed curriculum?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford walks down the grand staircase as he waits for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Ontario Legislature, in Toronto on Thursday, July 5, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Ontario Premier Doug Ford walks down the grand staircase as he waits for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Ontario Legislature, in Toronto on Thursday, July 5, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has made good on his campaign promise to repeal the province’s current sex education curriculum.

Lisa Thompson, the education minister for Ontario, said students will be learning from the sex-ed curriculum in place before the Liberals switched it in 2015. The Ontario Tories were vocally critical of the move by former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government.

The 2015 curriculum introduced students to concepts that did not exist in 1998, such as “sexting” and online bullying. It also provided students with information on same-sex marriage, gender identity and masturbation.

Yahoo Canada News infographic
Yahoo Canada News infographic

Here’s what the Ontario government website outlined what students in Grade 8 would learn about in the 2015 curriculum:

  • Factors that could affect someone’s ability to make safe and healthy decisions about sexual activity;

  • Sources of support related to sexual health (e.g., parents, health professionals, in-school resources, local community groups, religious leaders, elders)

  • Gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation, and how to identify factors that can help all young people to develop positive personal identities

The curriculum students will be learning in September was last updated in 1998. It will remain in place until the Tories conduct a “fulsome consultation respecting parents” on modernizing it, Thompson said.

In the 1998 curriculum, students were encouraged to “explain the term abstinence as it applies to healthy sexuality,” and sexual diversity is not mentioned at all.

On Twitter, many people expressed their disappointment with the decision:

Others lauded the Ontario government for taking a step back:

We want to to know – do you agree with Ford’s decision to get rid of the 2015 update to sex-ed? Vote below and let us know what you think in the comments!