Article content continued

Critics have said the 20-year-old old version of the curriculum did not include many modern themes that children need to keep themselves safe online and did not address things like same sex marriage.

When asked to clarify the government’s position on Monday, Thompson said only a portion of the curriculum will be rolled back, not the entire document.

“What we’ll be looking at is the developing sexual relations,” she said. “That’s the part in the curriculum that we’ll be taking a look at.”

Premier Doug Ford repeatedly promised to repeal and replace the sex-ed curriculum during his run for the Tory leadership earlier this year and during the spring election, saying parents had not been adequately consulted on the document that was updated in 2015.

The modernized curriculum includes warnings about online bullying and sexting that were not in the previous version, and also discussed same-sex marriage, gender identity and masturbation.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Monday’s developments make it clear the Tory government does not know what it’s doing on the sex-ed file.

“September is coming pretty quick,” she said. “It’s reprehensible and irresponsible that this government has left everything in such a disarray that educators in our province aren’t even aware of what’s going to happen come September.”

Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said the change in course from the government calls into question why they’ve repealed a curriculum that has been taught in classrooms across the province for three years.

“It’s irresponsible to cancel that curriculum,” he said. “It’s there to protect our children.”