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OTTAWA, Ontario, December 22, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new national poll suggests Canadians oppose the early sex ed programs being promoted in Ontario and other provinces across the country.

Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario government was forced to pull a new sex ed curriculum in April 2010 after backlash from parents upset at the idea of grade 3 students learning about “gender identity” and grade 7s being taught how to perform oral and anal sex.  Despite the reaction, senior cabinet ministers have pledged to reintroduce the program.

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But, according to a poll released this week by Abacus Data, 59% of Canadians consider it inappropriate to discuss oral and anal sex in grade 7.  The poll, commissioned by QMI Agency, found that only 14% consider the discussion “very appropriate,” while 33% call it “very inappropriate.”

Interestingly, Quebecers were vastly more in favour, with 60% considering it appropriate.  While 29% of Quebecers deemed the discussion “very appropriate,” only 12% thought it “very inappropriate.”

The poll also found that 56% percent of Canadians believe it is inappropriate to discuss “gender identity” in grade 3.

Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne, who oversaw the controversial program’s development in her former role as Education Minister, said in September that the Liberals have moved forward with their plan to rework the program.

Minister Glen Murray had said the same thing in February, labeling opponents of the graphic sex ed program “rightwing reactionary homophobes.”

In its poll Abacus Data also asked about a controversial “anti-homophobia” document put out by the Toronto District School Board telling teachers not to notify parents before controversial classes on homosexuality.  The document specifically states that parents cannot remove their children from the classes for religious reasons.

The pollster found that 70% of Canadians with children at home want to be told before their kids are exposed to sensitive issues.  Nearly half of those parents think they ought to have more say in what their kids are taught about sex than so-called “education experts.”

Sixty-two percent thought the TDSB’s suggestion that kids look up pictures of Toronto’s lewd Gay Pride parade is an inappropriate activity, with only 11% calling it “very appropriate” compared to 34% saying it is “very inappropriate.”

The poll suggests a sharp generational divide on homosexual issues, with those aged 18 to 29 appearing to be vastly more in favour of pro-homosexual curriculum than those aged 30 and over.

Only 43% of 18 to 29 year olds thought parents should be notified before sensitive material is covered, compared to 61% of those over 30.  And 56% of 18 to 29 year olds thought it appropriate to teach grade 3s about gender identity, compared to about 40% of those over 30.

Find a full listing of LifeSiteNews' coverage of the Ontario government's explicit sex-ed program here.