N.B. schools told not to book sex education group, minister says
CBC
Minister of Education Bill Hogan says he's made good on the premier's promise to ban a Quebec-based sex education group from New Brunswick.
On Friday Blaine Higgs posted a screenshot to X, formerly Twitter, of a sex education presentation that showed several questions about masturbation, pornography and anal sex.
Higgs said the material was "clearly inappropriate" and, "effective immediately," the group wouldn't be allowed back in New Brunswick schools.
On Wednesday, Hogan said he had implemented that change, but added that he hadn't communicated directly with the group.
"We've told the high schools that any presentations from that group that have been pre-booked are cancelled," Hogan said.
"I believe that the group knows that ... I think the group knows that they're not welcome in New Brunswick."
Teresa Norris, president of a charity called HPV Global Action, which operates the youth sexual education resource called Thirsty for the Talk, told CBC News on Wednesday that no one from the provincial government had reached out to tell her anything about the ban.
She disagrees with the premier's claim that the presentation, which was given to Grade 9 to Grade 11 students, veers outside the provincial curriculum.
"We're not creating something that the province hasn't already put in place," she said previously in an interview, noting she has been delivering that presentation in New Brunswick for several years.
Higgs told reporters he decided to ban the group based on a picture he saw of one slide and said he had not seen a copy of the full presentation.
The premier did not answer a question about why he wouldn't have a discussion with the group, but said an investigation into the matter is underway.
Hogan said the goal of the investigation is to identify what kind of vetting happened before the group was asked to make the sex education presentation.
"What I want to know is, who vetted it, how they vetted it and why it was recommended to go forward in some of the high schools," he said.
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