Joe Sinicrope gives a speech against Ontario's new sex-ed curriculum.
A protest with about 30 people calling for consultation on Ontario’s new sex education curriculum was held out front of MPP Vic Fedeli's constituency office about 11 o’clock Wednesday morning.
It wasn’t long before they were joined by a counter protest of around fifteen people supporting Ontario’s updated sex-education curriculum.
The website for Campaign Life Coalition called for a provincial day of protest on the “graphic sex curriculum” outside MPP offices across Ontario today. A photo reads ‘Stop radical sex-ed; Let kids be kids.’
In a press release, team leader Joe Sinicrope said the curriculum is not science based. “Instead it represents the ideological, child-sexualizing fantasies of a convicted child pornographer, Ben Levin, the former Deputy Education Minister under whom this curriculum was written.”
In his speech to the crowd Sinicrope said Levin’s influence is evident in the permissive undertone of the curriculum.
Federal Green Party candidate Nicole Pelletier doesn’t agree. “Ontario’s new sex-education was written by communities. Ontario had researchers and teams working on this. It was created by parents for their children.”
Sinicrope also said that only one hand-picked parent per school was allowed to fill out a survey concerning the new sex education curriculum.
But Robin Lynn Bénard of People First says proper consultation took place with over 5000 people. Bénard works with schools, helping them to develop curriculum, as a disability rights advocate.
“We were asked for our contribution of opinion toward the curriculum. We were asked what people with intellectual disabilities were looking for in the new sex-education and what they thought was lacking in the existing curriculum. We had some students that had already finished high school who gave their thoughts on what they wished they would have known in sexual education."
Brigid Hogan
Twenty yr-old Brigid Hogan held a sign with the message, “Say no to radical sex-ed." Hogan says "It's too much too early for a lot of kids.”
George Waye put out the call for a protest to the Campaign for Life event on facebook. Waye is a father of five children aged 3 to 15, “It’s important to show there are parents who support giving our children the proper facts to educate them properly. Hiding facts from kids endangers them.”
Sinicrope says 185-thousand people have signed a petition for parents to be consulted. Sinicrope says it is unacceptable that the new curriculum that will be introducing sexual consent as early as Grade 1.
Laura Hokstad was at the event as part of the counter-protest. Hokstad has trained volunteers to answer and counsel on the sexual assault crisis phone line for Amelia Rising. Hokstad says the message of consent has to start early. “If we talk earlier to children and youth about healthy sexual relationships that will move us forward to ensure people make safe choices and be respectful to their partners.”
Campaign Life Coalition calls for a continued campaign with the new school year starting next Tuesday, September 8th.
