Let's not make a federal case of this.

Critics have scoffed at claims by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne that they are literally taking their anger over the 2015 Health & Physical Education Curriculum to the next level -- the federal level, that is -- to bolster the fortunes of the Conservative Party of Canada. More distractions and obfuscation from the Premier, they say. In this case, Ms Wynne is absolutely right.

Exhibit 1. Let's call this The Money Shot. It had everything: WorldPride 2014 in Toronto, a lesbian Premier, the Liberal Party of Canada's best hope, and a now-convicted child sex offender. It's been used to attack Pride, the Premier's Office and the new curriculum. It will get a second life when the federal election campaign begins. As a bonus, the Tories won't have to use it. The Sun and TheRebelMedia will do it for them.

Exhibit 2. Cheryl Gallant

She's a federal Tory with the FordNation touch, demanding that the House make federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau order Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne to withdraw the curriculum. We know it doesn't work that way, but FordNation loves a bully.

Exhibit 3. Parm Gill

Different levels of government, you say? Piffle.

From HuffPo: Brampton–Springdale MP Parm Gill sent a letter to his constituents seeking "feedback" about the curriculum, which he disparaged as "graphic and explicit." However education policy is set by the provinces, meaning Gill and the federal government have no jurisdiction over the curriculum. A photo of the letter was posted to social media this week.

At no point in the mailout does Gill draw a distinction between Kathleen Wynne's Ontario Liberals, who are updating how sex ed is taught in the province for the first time in 17 years, and the federal Liberals who have nothing to do with the policy.



Exhibit 4. The Well Informed Parent

The Well Informed Parent group encourages supporters to write to their Trustee, MPP and "MP (Member of the Parliament) as we can also take this issue to the federal level." 

From their website:Over the last few weeks we have collected over 8000 inputs from concerned parents. We have compiled those comments and we developed a proposed curriculum.