Many of you have written to me with feedback from my emails last month titled: “What to do about Patrick Brown - Summer edition 2017” in which I outlined options for political action in Ontario that we can take to defend the rights of parents as first educators.

Specifically, I outlined the options including the Trillium Party, the new Ontario Alliance Party, Queenie Yu's Stop the Sex-Ed Agenda party, and the initiative being led by grassroots PC Party members called Take Back Our PC Party.

It is important to address these options with a little more detail.

Let’s start with the alternative political parties.

Last August, PAFE decided to run Queenie Yu in the Scarborough-Rouge River byelection to force the sex-ed issue onto the ballot and into the discourse of that campaign. Queenie was very successful in keeping the sex-ed issue alive as THE MAIN issue during that byelection.

This effort and the great response received from parents across Ontario led to Queenie starting Stop the New Sex-Ed Agenda, a political party which would focus solely on keeping the Wynne sex-ed issue alive as an election issue.

Since last August, many social conservatives feel that Patrick Brown has been a disaster.

Because of his flip-flop on sex-ed, as well as his stance on other issues, many Ontario voters have said they cannot in good conscience ever support the Ontario PC party with Patrick Brown as the leader. People have started looking at other options.

While many parents are happy to continue supporting Queenie Yu's Stop the New Sex-Ed Agenda party whenever that party runs a candidate in a specific riding, others have expressed interest in supporting an alternative party which will express opinions on a multitude of issues, both social and fiscal in nature, and which has the potential of fielding candidates in every riding in Ontario for the 2018 election.

Two political parties have emerged that have expressed a desire to work towards fielding candidates in every riding in 2018. 

Earlier this year, the Ontario Alliance Party was founded by former PC party supporters, and started its registration process to become an official party in Ontario.

According to LifeSiteNews, Jay Tysick is the interim leader. While there aren’t any of the party’s policies published anywhere, I understand the Ontario Alliance is against Wynne’s sex-ed curriculum. This is encouraging news. We await to see how development of that party unfolds, what their platform will be, and how parents can get involved. In the meantime if you're interested in contacting the party you can do so on their website: www.ontario-alliance.ca.

The other alternative party is the Trillium Party of Ontario which actually has a seat in the Ontario legislature with former PC MPP Jack MacLaren from Carelton-Mississipi Mills.  Recall in May, just before the final vote on Bill 89, that MPP Jack MacLaren left the Ontario PC Party and joined the Trillium Party. Led by Bob Yaciuk, the Trillium Party was founded in 2014. According to the party website, the TPO doesn’t “endorse” the Wynne sex-ed curriculum and wants a review with parental input. You can visit the Trillium Party's website for more information on how to get involved.

We should be pleased that the Ontario Alliance and Trillium Party will be providing an option for concerned Ontario parents. Every vote counts on election day and it is a noble thing to be able to cast one's vote for a protest party, whether it be Queenie Yu's Stop the New Sex-Ed Agenda party if you live in a riding with one of Queenie's candidates, or the Trillium Party, or the Ontario Alliance.  These parties all provide great answers to the question: I can't vote for the PCs or Liberals or NDP, so who can I vote for?

There remains, though, the bigger issue of: How are we ever going to get a government in Ontario that respects parents? The Kathleen Wynne Liberals are a disaster, as would be the NDP. As for PCs under Patrick Brown, we now know that they openly endorse the Kathleen Wynne approach on many issues, including her sex-ed agenda. The protest parties listed above are all great ways for Ontario parents to take a stand and register opposition, but someday, hopefully soon, we need to elect a government that will respect parents.

PAFE has also heard from hundreds of supporters who believe that the Ontario PC Party is still the most likely option to replace the Wynne Liberals and who do not have an issue with the PC Party itself, but rather have an issue with its current leader, Patrick Brown. They have told us there is more work that should be done within the PC Party to ensure that one of the established Ontario parties better represents the rights of parents as first educators.

I will explore this option in my next email. So stay tuned...

Regardless of which political party forms government, PAFE needs to continue being the watchdog and whistleblower so that your views regarding parental rights and family values are represented to our elected officials. Please help us continue our work by making a donation today. 

Together for the family,

Tanya Granic Allen
President