The pilot project to reintroduce sexual education to Quebec's schools has run into considerable delays.
Quebec has not had a standardized sexual education course in schools for more than a decade, but recent events are turning up the pressure teach sexual education.
Premier Philippe Couillard said this week that he is open to the idea.
"We are in favour, completely in favour, of this principle," he said this week, in the wake of the allegations of sexual assault against MNA Gerry Sklavounos.
To that end 19 schools across the province are in the second year of a pilot project for a "no exemptions" sex ed course.
But so far, the project is facing seriously delays.
At Howard S. Billings high school in Chateauguay, instructors say they only just received the necessary teaching material from the Ministry of Education.
"We still need to get that through to our teachers, give them some training, and get that most important feedback from them," said Rob Buttars, the general manager of the New Frontiers School Board.
The original idea proposed in 2015 called for classes to take place in 2015-16 for grades one, three, five, seven, nine, and eleven at certain schools, with refresher courses for those same students this year.
However Buttars said very little was done last year, the first year of the pilot project.
"Whne you have a two-year pilot project, the first year can't be just shadowboxing."
As a result he does not think Quebec will be able to implement the course across the province next year.
"I think a fall 2017 deadline is ambitious," said Buttars.
The situation is slightly different at Riverview Elementary in Verdun.
That school said it has been receiving information gradually from the ministry, and started teaching the new material as it became available.
The Education Minister's office would not comment on the delays in providing material to schools, nor would it discuss how the delays could affect implementing sexual education in schools across Quebec.
That hasn't stopped individual teachers and boards, that are not part of the Ministry-approved pilot project, from doing their own thing.
At the Lester B. Pearson High School, social studies teacher Clorinda Antonacci organizes an annual sexual education workshop for older students.
"Not doing anything is not an option, and just relying on the science teachers to talk about the mechanics of the reproductive system is not enough," said Antonacci.
Upon hearing of the delays in the pilot project, she is certain the government will need time to cope with feedback.
"A lot of teachers are not comfortable with the subject. Some want more training... Others don't want to touch it. I think that's what the ministry needs to keep in mind," she said.
The sexual education classes consist of five to 15 hours of instruction per year.
In the wake of recent events, including a series of sexual assaults at Laval University, many people say any sexual education course should include a discussion of sexual consent.
