Anti-sex-ed activists in Ontario have formed a new political party and are running candidates in the province's two ongoing byelections. Queenie Yu, who ran as an independent candidate in the recent Scarborough-Rouge River byelection on a platform opposing the Liberal government's updated sex-ed curriculum, is behind the new party.
She is running as the Stop the New Sex Ed Agenda candidate in Niagara West-Glanbrook, while Elizabeth de Viel Castel is running as the party's candidate in Ottawa-Vanier. Those votes are set for Nov. 17.
The goal is not necessarily to win a seat, which is highly unlikely, but to send a message that opposition to the Liberal sex-ed curriculum is still alive, Yu said.
Even though I'm not able to offer supporters a party that can form government, the point is that democracy isn't just about winning seats in the legislature, it's about being a voice for the public," she said.
"When you look at the Green party, they've never won a seat but people vote for them because of what they stand for."
In Niagara West-Glanbrook, social conservatives are accusing Brown of muzzling the party's 19-year-old candidate, who campaigned on a socially conservative platform, but Brown now says the teen supports his position.
Sam Oosterhoff defeated the PC party president and a vice-president to win the nomination, but has not given interviews to provincial politics reporters to clarify his sex-ed position.
The group Parents as First Educators, which said it had discussions with Brown's office during the Scarborough campaign about commitments he could make to appease sex-ed opponents, complains that it's unclear where Oosterhoff stands on the issue.
Brown insists the teen's victory was "absolutely not" revenge from social conservatives who are upset over his sex-ed flip-flop.
Anti-sex-ed activists form Ontario political party
She is running as the Stop the New Sex Ed Agenda candidate in Niagara West-Glanbrook, while Elizabeth de Viel Castel is running as the party's candidate in Ottawa-Vanier. Those votes are set for Nov. 17.
The goal is not necessarily to win a seat, which is highly unlikely, but to send a message that opposition to the Liberal sex-ed curriculum is still alive, Yu said.
Even though I'm not able to offer supporters a party that can form government, the point is that democracy isn't just about winning seats in the legislature, it's about being a voice for the public," she said.
"When you look at the Green party, they've never won a seat but people vote for them because of what they stand for."
In Niagara West-Glanbrook, social conservatives are accusing Brown of muzzling the party's 19-year-old candidate, who campaigned on a socially conservative platform, but Brown now says the teen supports his position.
Sam Oosterhoff defeated the PC party president and a vice-president to win the nomination, but has not given interviews to provincial politics reporters to clarify his sex-ed position.
The group Parents as First Educators, which said it had discussions with Brown's office during the Scarborough campaign about commitments he could make to appease sex-ed opponents, complains that it's unclear where Oosterhoff stands on the issue.
Brown insists the teen's victory was "absolutely not" revenge from social conservatives who are upset over his sex-ed flip-flop.
Anti-sex-ed activists form Ontario political party
