Higgs says it's too early to know whether sex-ed group can return to schools

Premier Blaine Higgs says it's still not clear whether a now-banned sex education presentation was vetted properly, but he would not rule out allowing the presenters back in New Brunswick schools.

Higgs said it's "too early to say" whether HPV Global Action, a Quebec-based sex education group, will be allowed to present at schools in New Brunswick again. 

That comes two weeks after the premier, in a post to X, said the group would be banned "effective immediately, after the group gave several presentations to Grade 9 to 11 students last month.

HPV Global Action's president Teresa Norris met with Higgs's principal secretary, Steve Outhouse, in person on Thursday to show him the presentation.

Outhouse, who is also working as Higgs's campaign manager, was the only government representative to view the presentation Thursday. 

Higgs told reporters the intention behind that was to "have a neutral person just look at" the content. 

The premier has said the group's presentation went beyond the curriculum, but on Friday he said department staff will evaluate whether that's the case.

"That wasn't the purpose of that meeting," he said when asked why no Department of Education staff attended Thursday's meeting to evaluate the content. "It will come to that, I'm sure.

"I don't have a full assessment of that discussion, but I understand the next step is to measure that against the curriculum."  

Teresa Norris, president of the non-profit organization, said on Thursday she has presented in New Brunswick for years without issue until Higgs posted the cover slide from her presentation online. 

It featured questions about anal sex, pornography, and other topics Higgs called "clearly inappropriate" and outside of the sex education curriculum. He later told reporters he had not seen the full presentation.

"In all of our years, we have never had anybody work with us, see our presentation, or in an aftermath ever have any issue with our presentation," she said. 

"The only thing that happens after our presentation is, typically, somebody is saying, 'could you come to our school too?'"

Norris told reporters the provincial Department of Health and Department of Education both had a hand in vetting the presentation.