Patrick Brown says promise to scrap Liberal sex-ed curriculum was a 'mistake'

Ontario's Progressive Conservative leader now says itwas a "mistake" to pledge to scrap the Liberal government's sex-edcurriculum if his party wins the 2018 election.

In a letter distributed last week, just days before a byelectionin the east Toronto riding of Scarborough-Rouge River, Patrick Brownwrote that a Progressive Conservative government would "scrap thecontroversial changes to sex ed."

The curriculum was updated last year, for the first time since1998, but some parents complained that the government didn't consultthem enough and others were angered by mentions of same-sexrelationships, gender identity and masturbation.

• KathleenWynnesays scrapping Ontario'ssex-edcurriculum 'very, very dangerous'
• Ontario PC leader says he would scrap Liberal changes tosex-edcurriculum

In an op-ed in the Toronto Star Monday, Brown says it was amistake for the Scarborough-Rouge River campaign to send out aletter saying he would scrap the curriculum because he will not.

'I want to correct the record'

Brown says the curriculum changes are "hot topics" in theriding, and that while parents should be consulted, it doesn't mean"opening the door to intolerance."

He says sex education is important "to combat homophobia, andraise important issues like consent, mental health, bullying, andgender identity."

"I want to correct the record before the byelection on Thursday,whatever the political consequences. I do not want people voting inScarborough-Rouge River thinking I will scrap sex education. I willnot."

Ahead of the op-ed, the party's byelection candidate Raymond Cho maintained the issue was one that his riding was passionate about.

"When I look at my riding, the huge majority are Muslim, Catholic, Hindu, Chinese. All these parents are quite concerned about this issue," Cho said.

But in a statement released Monday by Institute for Canadian Valuespresident Charles McVety suggests Brown may have indeed lost thesocial conservative vote.

"Patrick Brown campaigned to become leader on a pro-familyplatform, promising to protect children from the radical sexeducation curriculum of Kathleen Wynne," McVety wrote.

Values group 'deceived and betrayed'

"It is always sad to see a politician be deceitful," McVety's statement continued,"but it isespecially troubling when he is so brazen the he will flip threetimes on the same issue. We have been used, deceived and betrayed."

Brown's spokeswoman tweeted Friday that the letter was not a newannouncement. Brown himself tweeted late that night that he"strongly" supports an updated curriculum "that takes intoaccount changing attitudes and (the) world in which children nowdwell" and said parents must be consulted, but didn't dispute thathe planned to scrap the Liberal curriculum.

During the party's leadership race last year, Brown spoke at arally protesting the sex-ed curriculum, saying, "Teachers shouldteach facts about sex education, not values," without identifyingwhat parts of the curriculum he felt were teaching values.

The Liberals have alternately accused Brown of harbouring extremesocial conservative views and tried to paint him as "an old-stylepolitician who just says whatever he thinks people want to hear."