Canadian high schoolers get their sexual health information from schools, Statistics Canada reports.The StatsCan report entitled, Where do 15- to -17-year-olds in Canada get their sexual health information? finds 56% of adolescents identified school as the main source of information about sex. Parents or caregivers (51%), the Internet (46%), friends (36%) and health care professionals (21%) were also listed as sources.Only 15% of teens said they didn’t have an adult to talk to about sexual health issues, while 3% said they had no source of information.Report authors Michelle Rotermann and Alexander McKay said whoever gives the information can influence the teenager's practices.“The objective of this study was to update Canadian information about sources of sex education self-reported by adolescents and the related resource of having an adult to talk with about puberty and sexual health,” wrote the authors.“Where adolescents get their sexual health information is important and can influence their sexual behaviour.”The researchers found some significant differences between the sexes."More males (58.5%) than females (52.7%) identified school as a source of sexual health information. However, higher percentages of females identified parents or guardians (55.7% versus 46.9% for males), friends (40.9% versus 31.7% for males), health care professionals (25.3% versus 16.7% for males) and books (7.8% versus 6.1% for males)," the report explains.On September 20 and October 21 2023, the 1 Million March was held in various cities to protest teaching in schools about gender and sexuality. From December 24 to 31 2023, residents of Abbotsford, BC protested 24-hours-a-day against the SOGI 1-2-3 materials given to British Columbia students.BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad, a former Liberal MLA, announced parent-friendly school policies as the march was held.“First, I will end SOGI123, and I will implement a zero-tolerance anti-bullying approach in our schools. Schools must be safe for all students, and the SOGI123 program is a failure; it has become a distraction and it is divisive,” the leader wrote.“Second, I stand with parents who are demanding honesty, transparency and accountability from our public education system. Kids must be taught how to think — not what to think. We must allow parents and families to raise their own children how they see fit."“Third, I will fight for women's rights. Women should have safe spaces in our schools and we must have safe and fair competitive sports for women and girls. This is just common sense.”Last year, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs announced that his government would change the province’s sexual orientation and gender Identity policy. Now, schools must seek parental consent before a student under the age of 16 would be permitted to change pronouns or names.A similar change in Saskatchewan provoked a legal challenge by UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity. Court of King’s Bench Justice M.T. Megaw made an injunction to prevent the law from being enacted, but the provincial government used the Charter of Rights' notwithstanding clause to override the challenge and push the legislation into law.
