Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is backing down on changes to the province's sexual education curriculum, which would have seen Grade 3 students learning about same-sex families and 12 year olds learning about oral and anal sex.
"It's become pretty obvious to us that we should give this a serious re-think," McGuinty told reporters on Thursday.
He said the government will take the new curriculum off the shelf and re-think the policy behind it, giving parents the opportunity to express their opinions on what type of information is taught in the classroom.
"They are obviously not comfortable with the proposal that we put forward," McGuinty said.
The curriculum which was quietly unveiled in January, brought the government under fire from religious and conservative groups, as well as parents, who discovered the changes this week.
"I think for most parents, it came out of nowhere," McGuinty said.
The proposed curriculum included:
- introducing sexual identity and sexual orientation discussions in Grade 3;
- learning about masturbation in Grade 6;
- teaching students about oral and anal sex, as well as preventing unwanted pregnancies, in Grades 7 and 8.
The province will now stick with the current sex-ed program, until a new plan is developed. McGuinty said that plan will be developed by spending more time consulting parents, as well as Ontario's diverse community.
"The net that we cast in terms of consulting was too narrow," McGuinty said.
Previously, the premier defended the curriculum, saying students living in the Internet age are already exposed to this information and should be taught about it in a formal manner.
McGuinty told reporters on Wednesday that if parents are uncomfortable with aspects of the new curriculum, "they are free to withdraw their children from the classroom."
The government consulted with education experts and parents for two years to develop the new curriculum. Ontario's current sex education curriculum hasn't changed since 1998.
