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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Ontario accused of corrupting young minds
TORONTO -- A revamped sex education curriculum that will see Ontario students learn about masturbation in Grade 6 and oral sex at age 12 this fall is a responsible way to teach children about a touchy subject, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday.
Conservative groups who are mounting a campaign to get rid of the revised program, which will see lessons taught as early as Grade 1, are accusing the government of corrupting young minds with sexually explicit material.
Kids will learn about such topics anyway, whether it's from their friends or the Internet, McGuinty countered.
By making it part of the curriculum, children will get the information in a venue "over which we have some control," he argued. "Why wouldn't we recognize that we live in an information age and why wouldn't we try to present this information in a thoughtful and responsible and open way?"
But the self-described "family focused" groups say the material is "bordering on criminal."
Sixth graders would be taught about masturbation and vaginal lubrication and 12 year olds will get lessons on oral and anal sex, charged Dr. Charles McVety, president of Canada Christian College.
Teachers will also instruct eight year olds about gender identity, sexual orientation and same-sex marriage, he said.
"Now, most adults do not question their gender identity. But we're now going to teach little Johnny to say, 'Well, I'm male on the outside, but maybe I'm a girl on the inside,"' McVety said. "This is unconscionable to confuse an eight-year-old's mind with this type of indoctrination of a special-interest agenda."
The groups, which claim to comprise more than 100,000 members, are planning a rally May 10 -- right after Mother's Day -- to protest the curriculum.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 21, 2010 A9
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