A feud over how Ontario’s proposed new sex education curriculum will be taught in Catholic schools could reignite public debate over whether the schools should be taxpayer-funded, Progressive Conservatives said Wednesday.

“I think the public is quite shocked to learn…there was going to be a separate curriculum rolled out for the Catholic system,” Conservative education critic Elizabeth Witmer told reporters, slamming “secret negotiations” between government and Catholic officials.

“If this does become an issue they would have no one to blame but themselves based on how they’ve handled this situation.”

The comments came after Premier Dalton McGuinty insisted Catholic and public schools must teach the same basic material, but in an apparent contradiction, Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky said it’s fine for Catholic schools to continue teaching “from a faith perspective.”

She confirmed ministry officials were working with the Institute for Catholic Education and church officials on their own version of the controversial curriculum that McGuinty pulled back for a “re-think” last week. It included a more frank discussion of sexual topics such as naming of body parts in Grade 1, a mention of homosexuality in Grade 3 and oral and anal sex and vaginal intercourse in Grade 7 in broader health contexts.

“They may not learn the same way,” Dombrowsky, a former separate school board chair, said of Catholic students. “They learn the same thing, perhaps in a different way.” She walked away after being asked about the funding issue.

Sister Joan Cronin, executive director of the Institute for Catholic Education, said earlier this week that mentioning homosexuality in Grade 3 was not acceptable and would be put off to Grades 7 and 8.

“God love Sister Joan…it won’t be an issue,” McGuinty said Wednesday.

“We have a single curriculum when it comes to mathematics, when it comes to history, when it comes to world studies and when it comes to sexual education. And we’ll find a way to make sure that it suits all our children.”

Concerned by the day’s developments, the government relayed on Wednesday night a statement from Catholic schools and bishops pledging to “work co-operatively” on the curriculum review and affirming it will be taught under “Catholic principles.”

McGuinty couldn’t say for certain Wednesday when he had first read the sex ed curriculum, which became a hot potato when it was flagged by Christian groups April 20.

At first he told reporters: “I haven’t read it.” Minutes later, he added: “I don’t know. A few days ago.”

Later, an aide said he hadn’t read it until last Thursday morning, when he announced after defending it for two days and hours that the policy was going back to the drawing board.

During the 2007 election campaign, McGuinty, a Catholic whose wife is a Catholic teacher, slammed the Conservatives for a plan to expand taxpayer funding to other religious schools, saying it would undermine social cohesion and lead to an “extended, divisive, controversial debate.”

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Witmer said that message rings hollow for the Liberals now.

“I guess we’re not all (as) equal as they tried to point out last time—that all people should attend the public school boards and there should be no special treatment for anyone.”

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