Ontario PC leader says it was a ‘mistake’ to pledge to scrap Liberal sex-ed changes

TORONTO – Ontario’s Progressive Conservative leader now says it was a “mistake” to pledge to scrap the Liberal government’s sex-ed curriculum if his party wins the 2018 election.

In a letter distributed last week, just days before a byelection in the east Toronto riding of Scarborough-Rouge River, Patrick Brown wrote that a Progressive Conservative government would “scrap the controversial changes to sex ed.”

The curriculum was updated last year, for the first time since 1998, but some parents complained that the government didn’t consult them enough and others were angered by mentions of same-sex relationships, gender identity and masturbation.

READ MORE: Ontario PC leader says he would scrap Liberal changes to sex-ed curriculum

In an op-ed in the Toronto Star today, Brown says it was a mistake for the Scarborough-Rouge River campaign to send out a letter saying he would scrap the curriculum because he will not.

Brown says the curriculum changes are “hot topics” in the riding, and that while parents should be consulted, it doesn’t mean “opening the door to intolerance.”

He says sex education is important “to combat homophobia, and raise important issues like consent, mental health, bullying, and gender identity.”