HomeMy WebLinkAboutCivil liberties group mounts legal challenge to Ford’s sex-ed overhaul - Globe & Mail - 08/22/2018 - Globe & Mail - 08/22/20188/24/2018 Civil liberties group mounts legal challenge to Ford's sex -ed overhaul - The Globe and Mail
lZ;"'Nt/ CI A
Civil liberties group mounts legal challenge to Ford's
sex -ed overhaul
SEAN FINES JUS"T"1101: W RIITII:::IR
CAROLINE ALPHONSO> I1::Il: UCATII0IW l?l:.:If' IRTI[:IR
If b U.0 II3� II... II » II N If: ID A U.➢ G U U S' U' 2 3, 7 018
U IIS DA III.:.IIS 4 II M IR S AGO
A civil -liberties group is asking a court to stop Ontario's Progressive Conservative
government from throwing out a contentious sex -education curriculum, calling its
planned replacement with a 20 -year-old document an act of illegal discrimination
against the LGBTQ community.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is seeking a court order as early in the
school year as possible to maintain the previous sex -ed curriculum until a new one
can be developed through public consultation. Its filing in Superior Court on
Thursday comes a day after the provincial government directed public -school
boards to use a "revised, interim curriculum," based on a 1998 document on sexual
health, this school year. The curriculum it is replacing, implemented in 2015 by a
Liberal government, includes sections on gender identity, sexual orientation and
consent not found in the 1998 curriculum.
The government has said it will hold public discussions while it develops a new
approach to sex education. But Michael Bryant, executive director of the Canadian
(`ixTil T +hP rrnX70rn1-"0nPC--Innrn-114% -1 "111_Nrr_XAThiC-+10 of
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-civil-liberties-group-mounts-legal-challenge-to-fords-sex-ed-overhaul/ 1/6
8/24/2018 Civil liberties group mounts legal challenge to Ford's sex -ed overhaul - The Globe and Mail
iii" I iii
Wo
reporters.
l,;"'Nt/ CI A
Becky McFarlane, a queer mother of a 10 -year-old daughter entering Grade 6 at a
Toronto public school, has also joined the civil -liberties group's challenge. She was
not available for comment. But Mr. Bryant said the government's revised curriculum
treats same-sex families such as hers as if they don't exist. "It's as if they are the
others, the unspoken others."
Kayla Iafelice, spokeswoman for Education Minister Lisa Thompson, said Thursday
the government expects teachers to use the interim curriculum, and will consult
with parents and educators on a revised document. She did not otherwise respond
to a question about the legal challenge.
The court challenge is the second attempt to find a legal mechanism to stop the Ford
government from dropping the 2015 curriculum. Representing an 11 -year-old
transgender girl, Toronto lawyer Marcus McCann filed a complaint this month to a
human -rights tribunal under Ontario's Human Rights Code. The two legal
challenges are part of a co-ordinated strategy, both Mr. McCann and Mr. Bryant said
in interviews.
"The 2015 curriculum included information about her identity and her body," Mr.
McCann said in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail, referring to the 11 -year-old, "and
that's now been removed. That's a breach of the code, because her non -trans peers
will still get access to information about their identities and their bodies."
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-civil-liberties-group-mounts-legal-challenge-to-fords-sex-ed-overhaul/ 2/6
8/24/2018 Civil liberties group mounts legal challenge to Ford's sex -ed overhaul - The Globe and Mail
R, I�' Nt "/r C I A
anonymously over what is being taught in classrooms. The information would be
shared with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), which licenses, regulates and
disciplines educators.
...F 0 IFR Y CON ...F II N G..1 f::: S I1:3 If:::: IL...0 W A IC:i V If:::: IFP ...IF II C If::::. M If:::: IN ..
S ...F 0 FRY C 0 IV ...F II N U f:::. C IE:3 IE::: IL... 0 W A If) V IE::: IFS 1F II C IE Phi IE::: IN ...1..
The sex -ed component of the wider health and physical education curriculum is
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-civil-liberties-group-mounts-legal-challenge-to-fords-sex-ed-overhaul/ 3/6
8/24/2018 Civil liberties group mounts legal challenge to Ford's sex -ed overhaul - The Globe and Mail
1U.
" I iii
�,F
IU III
IU II R, I"' � ,�F�.��.F G
�a
students," Mr. Campbell said.
A.j. Adams, who is a supply teacher at two school boards and has been teaching for
three years, said that if a student were to ask a question about content not covered
in the PCs' interim program, she would still provide the relevant information. She
discussed consent and online safety with Grade 7 and S students when the 2015
curriculum was in place.
She added that she understands that her union will defend her in teaching the 2015
content.
Kimberly Rastin, who will be teaching a Grade 4-5 class this year within the London
District Catholic School Board, said she was frustrated by the Ford government's
move to revert to a 20 -year-old curriculum.
"I don't see how I'm supposed to talk about family development without
acknowledging that there are all kinds of families out there, there are all kinds of
families represented in the Bible," she said.
Ms. Rastin, who has been teaching for 18 years, said she and other teachers are
nervous about the situation.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-civil-liberties-group-mounts-legal-challenge-to-fords-sex-ed-overhaul/ 4/6
8/24/2018 Civil liberties group mounts legal challenge to Ford's sex -ed overhaul - The Globe and Mail
2 R, I"' Nt "/r C `Z A G
no C 01`4 IA I::.. IN r S
Ontario's interim sex -ed curriculum vague and confusing, experts and board say
Ontario ;..)rin0U.rices broad. conSLII.Itafioris on educatiori iSSLII.CS, includirig sex ed
if: lZ 0 IIA Y 0 U II1 11 1E.: III 0 IN
'11'a"'Irry Sot1.:L"0 33 fit,)rest fire r�,ior-i'v as t,1friidcr cor"brolf',f . .. . . /,""'A
H I A U G 1' 2', 2 1() 1 E,
TRENDING
Sorry Canadian Tire, Bombardier and BlackBerry: A pot stock is now worth more than
you
2 Is Trump finished? No, not by a long shot
3 The Bernier headache is just beginning
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/arLicle-civil-liberties-group-mounts-legal-challenge-to-fords-sex-ed-overhaul/ 5/6
8/24/2018 Civil liberties group mounts legal challenge to Ford's sex -ed overhaul - The Globe and Mail
5 U 5 C 'R l l, //,,I'
0 `4 Ir A C Ir U S
A ) //,,I' `Z S ,I' Z V I' ,,I' S
5, j M g u, 'r,/.,.,,,, L600, F;Yh1"), 0''J, C,,�, n ', d Al A 0 J j
I �, I I I I i E) gal / I £, Y,u b � i '), I/
...................
0 Down1load oin the GIET IT OIN
4.9. A.I.p.l.? S t 0 1 r (...? >1 Googlle II SII
........ .......... ........... .. ....... .. ...... ........ .... ........ .. .. .......
*1� i�rl a
l,;"' Nt Ir C `Z AP G
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/arLicle-civil-liberties-group-mounts-legal-challenge-to-fords-sex-ed-overhaul/ 6/6