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Home My WebLink AboutSex-ed and other social-conservative hot buttons starting to light up Ontario Tory leadership race - National Post - 02/12/2018 - National Post - 02/12/20182/14/2018 Sex -ed and other social -conservative hot buttons starting to light up Ontario Tory leadership race I National Post ePaper Hello brent.i NATIONAL*POST NEWS - FULL(OMMENT - SPORTS - (ULTURE -,, LIFE - MORE - DRIVING - (LASSIFIEDS -� JOBS - SUBSCRIBE - FINAKIALPOST F i s r iz I N F tial N/1 F N i- S C �'� N A I What Are our Retirement Goa, Is? If you have, above a $500,000 portfolio, download "The Definitive Guide to Retirleirnent Income by best-selling author Ken Fisher's firm. It goes over refirernent goals, hiow much retirement can cost, and how to int elligentlyruse investments to pay for retirement. �llllllllllllllllll��llllllllllllllllllllll��l Sex -ed and other social -conservative EXERCISE YOU R hot buttons starting to light up CHOICE !1�0 FOR I YIEAR* Ontario Tory leadership race s4�9 FOR 6 IMOINTHS,' FOR NO COMIMITMENT" P,ro QT021ps (11T 8Ud(kn1,,y enei�gi,,,-x(], (,i.nd hoj)c the MOVATI j1j'ATHLETIC c(twdidr(ves will (.ilsw o'ebate, the.Liber(,i] 1(.zw 1)assed sta loll thu.,t c�reu.ted 'hubble ;x,rixs'aro�ttri.d abortion 1,i,,,4cs lJ Members of Concerned Parents of Peterborough (CPP) protest outside of MPP Jeff Lealfs Constituency Office on Wednesday August 31, 2016 on King St. in Peterborough, Ont. cliflbrd http://nationalpost.com/news/politics/sex-ed-and-other-social-conservative-hot-buttons-starting-to-Iight-up-ontario-tory-Ieadership-race 1/10 2/14/2018 Tom BI.ACKWELI February 12, 2018 4:52 PM EST Filed under Canadian Politics Comment Facebook i Twitter �t�'wl"a �fNiHit Reddit tett Email 0 More Sex -ed and other social -conservative hot buttons starting to light up Ontario Tory leadership race I National Post past. tsui as the parry s leaaersnip race PICKS up momentum — and a surprise, potential fourth candidate that unofficial moratorium appears to be ending. Two of the three most prominent contenders say they will at least revisit the controversial new sex -education curriculum introduced by the Liberal government, with one charging Monday it is riddled with "Liberal ideology," the other promising she would allow free votes on questions of conscience. And the newest would-be entrant — Tanya Granic Allen, head of a parents group that opposed the sex -ed revamp — is pledging to make sex -ed and similar issues her prime focus. Pro-life groups are suddenly energized, and hope the candidates will also debate the Liberal law passed last fall that created "bubble zones" around abortion clinics, rendering pro-life protests illegal within 50 metres. Demonstrators in front of the Ontario legislature at Queen's Park to protest the government's recently announced changes to the sex ed curriculum on Tuesday February 24, 2015. Nar.'elkavl fleacrjoru nRrw Sacax1QA111 AyurPcy "We have been crying for three years, unwanted in our party, but now are back in the fold," said Charles McVety, Ontario's most prominent evangelical Christian activist. Allen said she will use her candidacy to "force" those NEWS VIDEOS 1F?✓I1, I1 r- Caill[A,15i TOP NEWS VIDEOS Watch. John Robson: Stoking fiery division ovt the Boushie verdict doesn't show you care 1�, Watch Boushie's mother meets with Trudeau:'This ain't going to stop until something changes for the better' Watch After decade! of warnings about race - based targeting, are reforms finally coming tc Canada's jury system? Watch Canada'must and can do better, Trude says as fallout over Boushie verdict hits Hou of Commons SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK issues to the fore — so long as she raises the $100,000 We want to improve your reading experienc http://national post.com/news/politics/sex-ed-and-other-social-conservative-hot-buttons-starting-to-I ight-up-ontario-tory-leadership-race 2/10 2/14/2018 Sex -ed and other social -conservative hot buttons starting to light up Ontario Tory leadership race I National Post The more mainstream candidates are undoubtedly eager to corral some of those Tories, too. Rreaching out to social conservatives may well be a "shrewd" short-term strategy, says pollster Greg Lyle, head of the Innovative Research Group. In an abbreviated leadership contest where signing up new members is crucial to victory, Christian and pro-life groups could be mobilized relatively easily with the right policies, generating significant support, he said. If the 80 per cent that don't believe in socially conservative values feel you Might then try and impose those values on them, then the backlash would not be worth the price If 01 But campaigning against the sex -ed program in a general election, where social conservatives would make up only about 20 per cent of the electorate, is another matter, he said. "It's a very risky thing for the Conservatives," said Lyle. "if the 80 per cent that don't believe in socially conservative values feel you might then try and impose those values on them, then the backlash would not be worth the price." To understand the perils of a social -conservative -tinged platform, Conservatives need look back no further than their loss in the 2007 election. Then -leader John Tory's promise of government funding for faith -based schools proved a policy catastrophe. LATEST POLITICS Police agencies across Canada say MMIW inquiry has not asked for case files to reviei Trudeau's Senate rep willing to cut off deba on weed legalization bill to meet summer timeline John Ivison: NDP's universal pharmacare proposal seems a prime target for Liberal burglary Trudeau government dumps head of Crowr agency that sold combat helicopters to Philippines http://national post.com/news/politics/sex-ed-and-other-social-conservative-hot-buttons-starting-to-I ight-up-ontario-tory-leadership-race 3/10 2/14/2018 Sex -ed and other social -conservative hot buttons starting to light up Ontario Tory leadership race I National Post Patrick Brown tells his side of the story to the Toronto Sun in an exclusive Interview. Cvrr�y3T�abca•�saaer�';�ixr^a+g�Naa"araa�.du;duuir^:d'rraNa.Pirrarr!c Perhaps not coincidentally, social conservative issues last had a profile during the PCs' 2015 leadership race. Patrick Brown won, in part by trading on his reputation as a pro -lifer who opposed same-sex marriage while an MP. MPP Monte McNaughton, the social conservatives' standard bearer at the time, sealed the deal when he pulled out of the race and backed Brown. But the new leader soon edged away from such stances, marched in a Pride parade and supported the sex -ed program, infuriating the so -con faction. Brown resigned suddenly last month over allegations of sexual misconduct that he vehemently denies. As he left, the door opened again to the social issues he had eschewed. The sex -ed curriculum, with its teaching about body parts, gender identities, anal sex and masturbation, is at the top of the list, having generated noisy pushback among many families. TORONTO WEATHER 0 o Sunity Feels like -6 °c Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Complete T' )recast � http://national post.com/news/politics/sex-ed-and-other-social-conservative-hot-buttons-starting-to-I ight-up-ontario-tory-leadership-race 4/10 2/14/2018 Sex -ed and other social -conservative hot buttons starting to light up Ontario Tory leadership race I National Post Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leadership candidate Caroline Mulroney appears at a event in Toronto on Monday, February 5, 2018. ChH5 YuaaanylTHE GANADIANPRA''SS' Leadership hopeful Caroline Mulroney is "disappointed" that Premier Kathleen Wynne's Liberals did not consult more with parents before bringing in the curriculum. But "this has been debated and as leader she would not reopen this issue," said spokeswoman Melissa Lantsman. Surprisingly, though, one of the first caucus members to endorse Mulroney was McNaughton, who had once led the charge against sex -ed. Among the other candidates, Christine Elliott, a former provincial cabinet minister, told the Toronto Sun she would be willing to revisit the curriculum, consulting with parents who felt it was forced on them. Sex -ed, she said, has to be "age appropriate." On Monday, she tweeted that under her leadership, "the PC Party will always allow free votes on matters of conscience. Our big blue tent has room for all conservatives!" Doug Ford, former Toronto mayoral candidate, has been a little more forceful on the sex ed question, committing to review the program. On Monday, he blasted both the Liberals for not consulting parents on the curriculum, and Brown for not allowing Conservatives to debate the issue internally. "We cannot expect Ontarians to trust us to consult parents on curriculum when we do not even consult with our own members," he said in a statement. "If I am elected leader, I will take this issue to the party, to parents, and to the voters." http://national post.com/news/politics/sex-ed-and-other-social-conservative-hot-buttons-starting-to-I ight-up-ontario-tory-leadership-race 5/10 2/14/2018 Sex -ed and other social -conservative hot buttons starting to light up Ontario Tory leadership race I National Post Ontario PC Party leadership candidate Doug Ford participates in a question -and -answer session at the Manning Networking Conference in Ottawa on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018. 'a°tai, dlAnr��S� Nv��.a �A/x r br ja Tkca McVety, for one, sees Ford as the social conservatives' man, noting that the brother of late mayor Rob Ford also managed to reverse a city of Toronto decision to cancel the "Jesus in the City" parade. "He is not a perfect candidate but I am convinced he will fix the economy and will restore family values." The Campaign Life Coalition — Canada's biggest anti- abortion group — will throw its support behind Granic Allen, said spokesman Jack Fonseca. And he argued that his and similar groups could generate enough new Conservative memberships to give her a real chance in the race. Then, when the whole province goes to the polls on June 7, the sex -ed curriculum will be front and centre, Fonseca predicted. "This is still on people's minds. We still get calls almost every day: `What are my children being taught?' " he said. "It's going to be an election issue." (Updated to include Monday statement by Doug Ford) • Email: tblackwell@nationalpost.com I Twitter: J ----------------- _5_1_3. f ....oli ......_s 9 ollower „ Comments l Share;your thoughts http://national post.com/news/politics/sex-ed-and-other-social-conservative-hot-buttons-starting-to-I ight-up-ontario-tory-leadership-race 6/10