Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford speaks at a rally at a school in Barrie, Ont., on Friday, May 11, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel

The Ontario government has scrapped a project to update its provincial curriculum with Indigenous content.

The two-week curriculum rewrite was to begin on Monday in Toronto but was cancelled with an email to participants on Friday afternoon.

In an emailed statement to iPolitics, a spokesperson for Education Minister Lisa Thompson said the ministry cancelled three writing sessions in total: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission curriculum, American Sign Language and Indigenous Languages in Kindergarten.

The cut is an austerity measure, the spokesperson continued.

“The ministry moved ahead with the cancellation unilaterally, with no direction from the minister of education,” the statement said. The statement added that the government will implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission documents but did not specify how it would be done.

“In keeping with the commitment Premier Doug Ford made to run government more efficiently, all ministries will seek to carry out initiatives in the most cost-effective way possible,” the statement continued.

The former Liberal government vowed last year to revise Ontario’s curriculum to include the general practices, customs and traditions of Indigenous peoples in geography, history and social studies courses in both elementary and high school classrooms before the start of the 2018 school year.

Curriculum revisions have been underway since 2016.

The Ford government’s decision sparked an angry backlash from educators and Indigenous leaders from across the province using the hashtag #TeachersforTRC.

One of those outraged was former Ontario regional chief Isadore Day, who described the importance of education in bringing reconciliation efforts for Indigenous peoples to light.

“The Ford government should take pause,” Day told iPolitics. “For the government to pull the plug like that … you’re now cutting off the oxygen for a new way forward for a province that simply has had much of the responsibility for the residential school legacy.”

The decision also took heat from Liberal Indigenous affairs critic Nathalie DesRosiers, who issued a statement calling the abrupt cancellation of the initiative “worrisome.”

“Indigenous voices need to be heard, respected and the government needs their insight when it comes to our curriculum,” the statement reads. “Dialogue with Indigenous leaders is critical to the Truth and Reconciliation process.”

The Ontario History and Social Science Teachers’ Association also spoke out, calling the decision “disturbing.”

“The true cost is in the delay in working together to educate ourselves and our students about this most pressing issue,” they said. “It is vital that all students have the chance to learn about the Indigenous histories, perspectives and contemporary issues history in a respectful way at all grades.”

The 62nd recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report asks all levels of government to consult with survivors, educators and Indigenous peoples about an appropriate, mandatory curriculum that includes various aspects of Indigenous history.

If Ford followed the lead of the TRC, Day said he would realize a government-to-government relationship that would be beneficial for the economic and social good of the province as a whole.

“Reconciliation has been brought forward by the survivors,” he said. “We want to make sure we have something that continues from government to government.”

Ontario’s new premier has also angered indigenous leaders by naming Greg Rickford to lead two ministries — Indigenous Affairs and Energy, Mines and Northern Development.