“This is not about Chinese being conservative in their values. We recognize we do need information to help kids protect themselves and make good choices and decisions… We are not against sex ed, but against irresponsible sex ed.

“This is the future of Ontario,” she added. “As a Chinese community, we don’t fight very often. We just pay taxes and buy houses and get mortgages… but the next generation, that’s a line we do not cross. If they’re hoping we will forget, they’re wrong. When our kids are messed up, nobody will forget.”

Mark Bloch, Thornhill trustee candidate in the last municipal election and parent of two school-aged children, will also take part in the Saturday panel.

He will be explaining his perspective as a supporter of the modernized curriculum, although he expects many in attendance will not agree with him.

“In this day and age, children need to know what’s actually happening out there and be educated on the consequences of their behaviour,” he said, adding he feels sex education provides a forum that is safe and non-biased.

“Our parenting philosophy has always been, if my child is old enough to verbalize a legitimate question on any subject, then they are old enough to understand a real answer,” said Bloch.

Siu said the Markham event will provide a venue for dialogue and information sharing from both sides.

For most of those who fought against it, the new curriculum is “95 per cent” acceptable, he said, but a few topics present challenges for a region as diverse as York.

Some cultural or religious groups with differing views and practices — Muslims who require girls and boys to clean up immediately after menstruation or wet dreams, for example — or South Asians who prefer not to discuss sex at all — struggle with the “one-size-fits-all” education approach, he said.

The forum will outline options for parents moving forward, including a possibility that the school board provide a heads-up when a sensitive topic will be addressed so students can opt out or take that portion of the class electronically at a later age.

There may be similar options for parents who prefer certain topics be taught in male or female-only classes, he said. The forum may also explore fears of homosexuality and how teaching tolerance can protect LGBTQ students from bullying.

“The more you understand a subject, the better off you are,” he said.

The York Region Parent Association has also invited school board trustees to share their next steps in preparing for the new curriculum.

Organizers hope the meeting will conclude with the formation of a task force to present key points to public and Catholic York Region school boards and, possibly, the ministry of education.

“We want parents to focus not just on anger,” Siu said. “We want to focus on solutions.”