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The implications of Wednesday’s federal legalization of cannabis is a perfect example of why Alberta’s curriculum needs modernization, Alberta Education Minister David Eggen said Wednesday.

A week after releasing the latest drafts of a proposed new kindergarten to Grade 4 curriculum, Eggen is holding two telephone town hall meetings this week in which viewers can ask questions on the phone or submit questions online.

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On Tuesday evening, more than 20,000 people listened to Eggen and two senior Alberta Education staff members answer questions about the draft curriculum. The minister expects even more people to tune in to a second town hall Wednesday evening.

“It struck me just how enthusiastic people are about talking about public education, and talking about curriculum specifically,” he told reporters Wednesday at the legislature.

The callers asked questions about how the curriculum addresses climate change, why the concept of needing consent to touch someone should be taught in schools, not by parents, and whether students will still do inquiry-based learning in Alberta classrooms after the new curriculum takes effect.