The province’s new sexual education program and HPV vaccines for Grade 8 girls are among the “moral issues” that Toronto’s Catholic school system can expect to grapple with, said Mike Del Grande in his opening speech as board chair.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) voted to allow the HPV vaccines for students in 2007.

Asked whether his comments implied this debate could be reopened, Del Grande said he has no plans to put anything on the board’s agenda.

“What am I going to have for breakfast tomorrow? ... I haven’t got any plans at this point,” he said.

Del Grande, who was originally a TCDSB trustee before sitting on Toronto City Council from 2003 until this year, explained that he mentioned the sex ed program and the vaccines as “examples” of “moral dilemmas” facing the Catholic education system.

“There are things that are going to be contrary to our Catholic faith, and these things we need to deal with to understand how it fits in to what we teach in our schools,” Del Grande told the Star Wednesday.

“If the (vaccine) comes up, and there’s research provided, and it’s a debate, and we ask for a theological position from the cardinal of Toronto, I think that’s how we’ll base our judgment.”

Del Grande also addressed teaching excellence and cooperation with the education ministry, unions, and other organizations.

The HPV vaccines have been controversial for Catholic school boards in the province. Seven years ago, when the vaccine program was introduced, some Ontario trustees argued it would encourage promiscuity or that it wasn’t proven to be safe and effective.

Halton’s Catholic school board decided to ban the vaccine in 2008, eventually reversing that decision and approving the shots in a vote last year.

The vaccine, Gardasil, is provided free to all Grade 8 girls in Ontario and is meant to prevent strands of HPV (human pappilomavirus) that cause cervical cancer. According to Ontario’s health ministry, the vaccine — delivered in three doses — helps protect against the types of HPV that cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers and 90 per cent of genital warts.

TCDSB Trustee Maria Rizzo, who put forward the motion in 2007 to approve the HPV vaccine in Toronto’s Catholic schools, said Del Grande’s comments show he is “misinformed” on the issue.

“It’s real simple. It’s not a moral issue. It’s a health issue,” Rizzo said.

“We don’t want to be talking about having a higher rate of (cervical) cancer in Catholic women 10 years from now.”

The updated sex ed curriculum, expected by September 2015, is based on the version shelved in 2010, which included discussions of homosexuality in Grade 3, puberty and possibly masturbation in Grade 6 and information on sexually transmitted infections in Grade 7.

Rizzo said the TCDSB trustees are consulting with parents on these changes.

“If the ministry of education says we have to do something, we have to do it. … It’s sort of like the gay alliance issues. There wasn’t a choice whether we agreed with it or not.”

Jo-Ann Davis, a fellow trustee and former board chair, echoed Rizzo in saying the vaccines shouldn’t be viewed through a moralistic lens.

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“The vaccine is a health issue and it’s a decision that we’ve already made as a board,” she said. “It’s about protecting our girls, protecting our students and protecting them from cancer.”

When it comes to the sex ed update, Davis said it’s hard to say because the official curriculum hasn’t been released yet. “Physical health and education is a broad topic … I would say probably most of it is not a moral issue, most of it is informative.”