Statement: Cardinal Thomas Collins on the Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum

On Monday, February 23, 2015, the Ontario government released its revised Health & Physical Education curriculum. The Ministry of Education has indicated the curriculum will be implemented in schools across the province this September. Below is a statement from Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto and President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario:

“As Catholics, we understand that parents are the primary educators of their children, and that especially in the teaching of family life issues, the parental role is vital.

For more than 30 years, Ontario's publicly funded Catholic schools have provided a family life curriculum consistent with our faith. The goal is to present a Catholic view of human life, sexuality‎, marriage and family, complementing the efforts of parents to teach their children at home.

While Catholic schools have a responsibility to follow the curriculum set out by the Ministry of Education, they have always sought to do so in a way that conveys, respects and models Catholic Christian principles to our students. They will continue this tradition.

A group of Catholic educators will produce resources that support Catholic teachers so that the new curriculum is implemented in a way that is consistent with our Catholic teachings and appropriate within the context of a Catholic classroom."

Since 1989, the Institute for Catholic Education (ICE) has coordinated the implementation of the family life curriculum in publicly funded Catholic schools. ICE will serve as the point of contact for further media inquiries.