The Executive Director of W.E. Trans Support is cautiously optimistic about the province's recent move to reintroduce gender identity to the sex-ed curriculum.
Gender identity and consent will be taught as part of a new sexual-education curriculum that will be introduced to schools this fall — the Ontario PC's released a general outline for the new curriculum as part of a broader announcement Friday morning.
An interim curriculum using 1998 materials was put in place last year after the PC's repealed the outgoing Liberal government's 2015 program.
"The government is now introducing it back in as if it was their idea to begin with but we still don't see how they're going to do that," says W.E. Trans Support's Jayce Carver. "Will it actually meet the standards needed for people with gender diversity and sexual diversity and will kids feel safe in their schools to self-identify within the curriculum?"
The 2015 curriculum addressed consent, online bullying, sexting, same-sex relationships and gender identity. An online consultation showed an overwhelming majority opposed the decision to roll things back.
"Will it be the same as the curriculum that was introduced by the last government, which the community at large felt would meet the need of the LGTBQ+ community," she added.
At the end of the day Carver says there are still too many questions left unanswered.
"We want to see some movement, so we'll take it, but of course, when our day to day is still living as an oppressed community we want to see exactly what that's going to look like," she says.
The announcement does indicate parents will be able to opt-out of having their kids exposed to certain topics and the Ministry of Education will issue online modules for those who want guidance on discussing those topics at home.