As Ontario premier Doug Ford speaks to the federal Conservative convention in Halifax tonight, Educators for Social Justice wonders if Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives share his views on P-12 education policy.

Since taking office on June 29th, Ford has abruptly cancelled a curriculum-writing session for Ontario teachers on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Furthermore, he has ordered teachers to teach an outdated sex-ed curriculum written in 1998. This curriculum was created before social media and sexting existed, and makes barely any mention of LGBTQ people. This week, Ford set up a “snitch line” for parents to contact if their children’s teachers teach content from the newer, banned sex-ed curriculum.

Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party (NSPC) leadership candidates John Lohr, Tim Houston, Cecil Clarke, Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin and Julie Chaisson have all tweeted support for Doug Ford since his election victory and will presumably be in the audience applauding him tonight. However, none have mentioned how they feel about his policy decisions on education.

As the official opposition in Nova Scotia, it’s reasonable for NSPC candidates to state publicly whether they support Doug Ford’s positions on sex education, as well as education to support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Nova Scotians deserve to know what they could expect from a PC government.

Media: contact esjnovascotia@gmail.com or 902 880 4714