By Victoria Gibson. Published on Aug 21, 2019 1:24pm
A new Ontario health and physical education curriculum released Tuesday is eliciting frustration over its similarities to the curriculum that Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives scrapped a year ago.
The new plan deviates from the Wynne Liberal’s 2015 curriculum in some places — including new information on vaping, cannabis, opioids and concussions — but also hits on similar notes with information on subjects like gender identity, sexual orientation and consent. Gender identity will now be taught two years later, in Grade 8 now, while consent will be introduced to students in Grade 1.
Sarah Kennell, who works at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, said that she believed the pressure placed on the government resulted in the inclusion of topics like consent and gender identity.