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Home My WebLink AboutDoug Ford is gambling Ontario parents are still concerned about sexual education OPINION - Globe & Mail - 02/14/2018 - Globe & Mail - 02/14/20182/15/2018 Doug Ford is gambling Ontario parents are still concerned about sexual education - The Globe and Mail MUM Doug Ford is gambling Ontario parents are still concerned about sexual education JOHN IBBITSON > If u U`U II:U IL.. II S II .0 II::: IIJ 12 HOURS A G O Doug Ford, if he wins the Ontario Conservative leadership and the provincial election, plans to increase parental control over sexual education. This would be tragic. But it might be smart politics. Tragic, because such policies inevitably lead to an increase in pregnancies among teenage women. But smart, because it plays to several key elements of the conservative coalition. Other conservatives, however, abhor such tactics. It will be interesting to see which side prevails. f If �:; O IV f II I�1 d U I:::. � II:::R II::::: IL... O W A ICS V II::::: Ifs if II S I::::: IM II::::: IN If Conservatives win when they forge a coalition of economically conservative native- born and immigrant voters: middle-class white voters in suburbs; middle-class immigrant voters in suburbs; voters in towns and on farms. Put them all together, and you can own 40 per cent of the vote — a majority government. Some of these voters are not just economically conservative; they are also socially conservative. In the 2015 federal election, I spent two weeks in the riding of Mississauga Centre, talking to dozens of people about their concerns. Many of the https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/doug-ford-is-gambling-ontario-parents-are-still-concerned-about-sexual-education/article37988965/ 1/6 2/15/2018 Doug Ford is gambling Ontario parents are still concerned about sexual education - The Globe and Mail curriculum, which they thought taught too much too soon, with too little parental control. Of course, education is a provincial, not federal, jurisdiction; the Liberals won Mississauga Centre handily. But many voters were concerned about sex -ed then, and it's a safe bet they are still concerned. That's Mr. Ford's gamble. "Parents, not governments, are our children's first educators," he declared earlier this week. "The sex -ed curriculum should be about facts, not teaching Liberal ideology. Parents should have the first and final say on what they want to teach their kids." It's hard to know exactly what this means, but we can infer: Parents should have increased rights to pull children from classrooms while sex -ed is being taught. The curriculum should focus on the biology of human sexual reproduction, without getting into such "Liberal ideology" as respecting sexual and gender minorities — or even full equality for women, for that matter. Mr. Ford is hoping that this discomfort over sex -ed could drive support among socially conservative voters, both immigrant and native-born, to his side. He may be right. But the consequences would be just awful. According to World Bank data, pregnancies in Canada among women 15 to 19 years of age declined by more than 80 per cent between 1960 and 2015. More than eighty per cent! This is such wonderful news. ...F 0 FRY C 0 IV ...F l IN J E.:E S 11:3 x[::::11 0 W AID V [:::: IR ...1F l S [:::: M [:::: IN ...1.. Teenage mothers and their babies face increased health risks, and are at high risk of living in poverty throughout their lives. It is believed that the reduction in teenage https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/doug-ford-is-gambling-ontario-parents-are-still-concerned-about-sexual-education/article37988965/ 2/6 2/15/2018 Doug Ford is gambling Ontario parents are still concerned about sexual education - The Globe and Mail Most developed countries have greatly reduced teenage pregnancies over the past five decades, through a combination of sexual education in schools, increased availability of contraception and greater autonomy for women. But the United States has a teenage pregnancy rate more than twice that of Canada. There, sex -ed curriculum is often developed at the district level, and in many districts is taught badly — focusing on abstinence rather than contraception — or not taught at all. A quarter of all school districts in Texas have no sex -ed programs. Texas has the fifth -highest teenage pregnancy rate in the country. When teenagers don't learn how to prevent pregnancy and STDs through contraception, more teenagers become pregnant, which is good for no one. "The kind of nostalgia that is being advocated by Doug Ford is really misplaced," says Rebecca Bromwich, a law professor at Carleton University who studies the interaction of women, youth and the law. Why, then, would Mr. Ford advance such policies? "He's dog -whistling." Some members of the conservative coalition are uncomfortable with notions of full equality for sexual minorities, or even for women. By dragging sex -ed back onto the political agenda, Mr. Ford is signalling that he is their kind of candidate. S ...F 0 FRY C 0 IN ...F l IN LJi F::::.S 13 If::::: IL... 0 VV A II:) \/ If::::: IFZ 1F l S If::::: IM If::::: IN ...1.. The question is how far are Christine Elliott and Caroline Mulroney, the two other Tory leadership candidates, prepared to go down this path. Many economic conservatives disavow the social -conservative agenda. Many warn that the party risks cutting itself off from the support of millennials, now the largest cohort of voters, with such social intolerance. These are important political questions. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/doug-ford-is-gambling-ontario-parents-are-still-concerned-about-sexual-education/article37988965/ 3/6 2/15/2018 Doug Ford is gambling Ontario parents are still concerned about sexual education - The Globe and Mail " L, AY V 1, ; 4 IFoirirneir 11birointo city couirnciilllloir I)oug (Ford says Ilse willll not introduce a carboin -tax if Ione its ellected as the inext Ipireirnieir of Ointairilo, IFoird officiialllly Ilaunched Ihiis bid to Ilead intairio"s IProgiressiive Coinservatlive IPairty Saturday "H"HII:. cAINAIDIIAIN IPRII:',ss F:011 IL.. OW N 0 II N IN II IB IFF II 1 s o IN o IN I W11 I I If IIS J o IH IN II IHi IHi ii "r s o IN j IIz II . IP 0 IR T A IN II:.'. R IR o IIS II :. II II "H O IIS II A IL.. C011' II.:: 01F' c o IN II UN IL.. II C I::. IN S II IN G O II' H II O IN As of December 20, 2017, we have temporarily removed commenting from our articles as we switch to a new provider. We are behind schedule, but we are still working hard to bring you a new commenting system as soon as possible. If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to feedback@globeandmail.com. If you want to write a letter to the editor, please forward to letters@globeandmail.com. I oIRIE 0114 " IIIIIs STORY Ontario's Progressive Conservatives face pivotal week in leadership race Ontario PC race a battle between pragmatists, populists How Doug Ford gets to play by his own set of rules in Ontario PC leadership race https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/doug-ford-is-gambling-ontario-parents-are-still-concerned-about-sexual-education/article37988965/ 4/6 2/15/2018 Doug Ford is gambling Ontario parents are still concerned about sexual education - The Globe and Mail TRENDING 1 Sun Life to add medical -marijuana coverage to group benefits plans�� 2 Canada's Ted -Jan Bloemen wins gold in men's 10,000m speed skating 3 In the famously heated rivalry between Canada and U.S. women's hockey, the game is in their minds 4 Weston family's Choice Properties buying Canadian REIT for $3.9 -billion 5 These Canadian stocks are set to see major moves Thursday *. LATEST VIDEOS Done Deals: Renovated home in Toronto finds a buyer second time it hit the market �/ :.-43 Raw video shows arrest of Florida school shooting suspect IIW :29 Italian teenager rescues toddler from subway train tracks Dog poo -powered street lamp gets tails wagging j/ 2::.3 Life sentences fair for men who killed members of Alberta family: Lawyers 1. :4 . o . „w S & �D 15 „ L o ... ,v"o. , u ,,, „d 11"11/11 . C 'J/l , .."r l G 1J . , „ L .. 4Hw, ud. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/doug-ford-is-gambling-ontario-parents-are-still-concerned-about-sexual-education/article37988965/ 5/6 2/15/2018 Doug Ford is gambling Ontario parents are still concerned about sexual education - The Globe and Mail G c, a i r,,,] inad,coi r Ad v,.,, i, s w "r A d d i -I !J D / I t'1 If I ""J u "r I brj. I/ - >I9 "Id 11 I 11FI)/ V"",ie Yf,)rk a �, a S "r f POP Dreckay d I v e i - y EdHrori,,."fl Codf . . . . ... 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