As the new Progressive Conservative government works to clarify its position on how sex-education will be taught in the new school year, a growing movement in the north is ready to fight Premier Doug Ford head on.
Ontario introduced an updated curriculum in 2015 that included same-sex relationships, consent and gender identity.
Premier Ford promised to scrap the controversial update, but there might not be as much support for that as he thought.
Scrapping the new curriculum may have played well on the campaign trail, but Doug Ford may have more opposition than he anticipated now that the election is over.
Lauren Ferguson is a grade 11 student.
"I completely disagree with it. It's really important to know about consent and gender issues." said Ferguson.
Erin Heise is Lauren's mother.
"Stick with the now. They need to know everything that is most important in life. And by going backwards, we're not going forwards." said Heise.
Back in 1998, Lauren hadn't even been born, but her mother remembers what sex-ed was like then.
"If our children aren't aware of the differences in genders, or their rights, that is going to go and create a lot of chaos." said Heise.
Rita OLink is a transgender grandmother from Sudbury, she agrees with Ferguson and Heise and she's leading a fight.
"The government is not above the Human Rights Code and we will not stand by and be discriminated against." said OLink.
She says any step backward on sex-education threatens the progress of her community and the community at large.
"Consent is not in the 1998 curriculum. Neither is anything about the internet, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, luring, predation of various forms, none of that is in there. This is an issue for every Ontarian, seriously." said OLink.
While the government has now backpedaled, saying some elements of the new curriculum will still be taught, OLink and others say that's not enough.
Lawyers have been hired, documents are being prepared, and the new Premier could find himself slapped with a discrimination suit before the school year begins.
