Local feminist activist group, Women’s March Muskoka, made it very clear what they think about the provincial PC government’s decision to repeal the 2015 sex-ed curriculum when they held a protest outside MPP Norm Miller’s office on Saturday.
Over 70 people, including educators, moms, dads, and families, from across Muskoka gathered to raise their voices and express their passion over the matter.
The Ontario PC government plans to replace the 2015 curriculum with the previous 1998 curriculum, which doesn’t include discussion on sexting, healthy relationships, online bullying, consent, gender identity and same-sex relationships/marriage.
“It’s time for us to recognize LGBTQ+ kids. I can’t imagine what it feels like to be told you aren’t important,” said Pat Smith, a former teacher who drove from Barrie to show her support.
Michelle Emson, founder of the Women’s March Muskoka group, says that the point of the protest was to:
encourage the government not to repeal the 2015 curriculum, engage in due process to develop a new curriculum, not rush through changes without consultation, and not take our children’s education back to the last century.
“The 1998 curriculum does little to nothing to prepare our children for life in 2018,” said Emson. “The 2015 curriculum was developed with considerable consultation of 4,000 parents, 700 students, 2,400 educators, health-care professionals, and more. The current curriculum covers very important issues around cyber-threats, abuse, bullying, inappropriate behaviour, gender identity, First Nations, consent, healthy relationships, and so much more, that are simply not covered in the 1998 edition.”
-
- Trisha Cowie
Emson says that they wanted to make sure the protest was peaceful and family friendly in order to attract the biggest crowd possible.
“Life in 2018 is very, very different to life in 1998. We need to ensure that we equip our children with the knowledge and guidance that will help them to navigate life today, not 20 years ago, before any of them were even born,” said Emson.
Although a spokesperson for MPP Norm Miller told Emson that Miller could not attend due to a prior engagement, the protestors made sure they were seen and heard by each passerby.
“This is something we feel strongly about as parents with three small children in school,” said dad Seth Martin. “We know these are all important subjects for them to learn and we don’t want them to be taken away.”
Many people honked while driving by to show their support of the cause, and some even stopped to declare their shared passion against the outdated curriculum.
“There is nothing more important than the safety and security of our children,” said Emson. “Whilst not perfect, the 2015 Health & Physical Education curriculum covers important topics relevant to life in the second decade of the 21st century. It’s important that we retain this curriculum and not take our children’s education back to a time before Google.”
Emson hopes to have a phone call with MPP Miller in the near future to discuss the curriculum reform.
Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free newsletter here.
I see the organized protestors are still trying to employ the “heckler’s veto” against the many who voted for our present conservative government solely on the strength of their passion against what the ‘nasty woman’, as her t-shirt reads, in the picture is apparently supporting. She would do better to explain why she believes that the newer curriculum is more suitable–not appeal to emotion as so many “protestors” are wont to do. Many, many parents do NOT want their daughters becoming ‘nasty women’. They will figure that if this particular ‘nasty woman’ is for the newer curriculum, then they should be against it.