News
Featured Image
 Shutterstock.com

TORONTO, February 28, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — An Ontario court today tossed out a Charter challenge by an elementary teachers’ union and a civil liberties group against changes the Progressive Conservatives allegedly made to the Liberal 2015 sex-ed curriculum.

Pro-family groups say the ruling proves Premier Doug Ford’s education minister, Lisa Thompson, has betrayed Ford’s campaign promise to repeal the Liberal sex-ed curriculum and shows that she has, in fact, repealed nothing.

The legal challenge by Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) claimed Thompson’s changes to the sex-ed curriculum infringed the rights of teachers and harmed students by not being inclusive, reported Canadian Press (CP).

But Divisional Court Justices Bonnie Warkentin, Charles Hackland, and Julie Thorburn didn’t buy it.

Their ruling pointed out the minister’s own lawyers assured the court that teachers could go beyond what was in the Thompson curriculum, and that there was no evidence any teacher had been penalized for doing so, CP reported.

That was echoed by Tanya Granic Allen, president of Parents As First Educators (PAFE), who has posted documents of the court action on PAFE's website.

“This result is not surprising in the least,” she told LifeSiteNews.

“The minister of education’s own lawyers and witnesses conceded that the Kathleen Wynne sex-education, including gender identity, can still very much be taught — so there is no case,” she added.

Jack Fonseca, head of political operations at Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), had mixed feelings about the decision.

“We’re glad that the court tossed the ridiculous lawsuit by the union bosses,” he told LifeSiteNews in an email.

“However, the rationale given by the judges for why they tossed it is more distressing than the original lawsuit,” added Fonseca.

“From what I’ve read in the newspaper today, it sounds like the reason for dismissing the lawsuit is that the court believes that Ford’s Minister of Education is going to betray parents on the repeal and replace promise,” Fonseca said.

“Therefore, the judges are confident enough that the Wynne/Levin curriculum will remain in place, they’re happy about that, and therefore, they don’t feel the lawsuit needs to continue,” he added.

PAFE and CLC are part of the Canadian Family Alliance (CFA), a grassroots parental rights coalition that formed to oppose the sex-ed curriculum Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals rolled out in 2015.

The CFA contends the Liberal sex-ed curriculum destroys children’s innocence by introducing homosexuality in Grade 3, masturbation in Grade 6, oral and anal sex in Grade 7, and by teaching that there are six genders rather than two biological sexes.

The alliance is demanding Thompson resign over what it says is her failure to repeal the sex-ed curriculum, despite Ford promising to do so on the campaign trail and as premier.

Thursday’s court ruling “is a shining example of how Lisa Thompson has failed Doug Ford and his promise to repeal the sex-ed curriculum,” Granic Allen told LifeSiteNews.

“Doug Ford’s repeal & replace promise to the people of Ontario has gone off the rails, thanks to sabotage by Lisa Thompson,” echoed Fonseca.

“The premier needs to save face with parents, and right this ship’s course, by firing Lisa Thompson immediately, and telling parents very publicly that he’s going to fix this mess, and keep his promise,” he said.

“No theory of gender identity, at any grade. No radical sex-ed lessons. Tell us explicitly Premier Ford,” he added,

Fonseca maintains Ford’s sex-ed repeal promise was the critical factor in his election both as PC Party leader in March and Ontario premier in June.

“In the general election, that’s all we heard about,” Fonseca told reporters at a press conference earlier this month, adding that Ford likely gained “a million votes” because of his position on sex-ed.

“We have over 100,000 supporters in Ontario, and everyone was very excited by the prospect of electing a government that would repeal this child-abusive, dangerous sex curriculum from our schools,” Fonseca said. 

As well as the EFTO/CCLA court challenge, a number of individuals have launched complaints to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, claiming that repealing the Liberal sex-ed curriculum harms children and discriminates against LGBTQ students.

To respectfully express your views on the sex-ed repeal, contact your MPP (for contact information go to Campaign Life Coalition, here) and:

Minister of Education Lisa Thompson
Ministry of Education
Mowat Block
22nd Floor, 900 Bay St.
Toronto, ON M7A 1L2
Tel: 416-325-2600 
[email protected]

MPP Sam Oosterhoff
Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education
Ministry of Education
Mowat Block
22nd Floor, 900 Bay St.
Toronto, ON M7A 1L2
Tel: 416-326-1697
[email protected]

Premier Doug Ford
Premier's Office
Room 281
Legislative Building, Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
Tel: 416-325-1941  
[email protected]

Related:

Ontario education minister must resign for failing to repeal sex-ed: parents’ group

Transgender teens sue Ford’s gov’t over sex-ed repeal in Ontario

New Ontario Conservative leader Doug Ford vows to repeal radical sex-ed

Ontario will still teach ‘gender identity’ despite scrapping Wynne sex ed: Education Minister