Ryerson University journalism teacher Gerald Hannon refused last night to back down from his support of intergenerational sex.
"Through discussion, we will discover situations when they (sexual relationships between men and boys) can be ethical and when they can be horrible," he told the CBC's On the Line program.
Hannon, 51, dug in his heels in a heated TV debate last night with Toronto Sun columnist Heather Bird, who said she considers any sex between an adult and child to be damaging to the child.
Another university professor, Naomi Goldenberg, argued that freedom of speech is a superior right.
Bird reiterated her concerns that Hannon has used class time at Ryerson to defend pedophilia to his students.
"There is an admission by Mr. Hannon he has raised it (the issue of pedophilia) three times in class," Bird said. "You've made it clear you see nothing wrong with intergenerational sex and there's no context for that in a class."
While callers to the phone-in show said they valued freedom of speech, they also felt Hannon shouldn't promote pedophilia in the classroom.
Calling the demand he be fired McCarthyism, Hannon said he has used all of "five minutes out of six hours a week since September" of class time to answer questions on his controversial writing.
Hannon, a freelance writer, has written several articles on pedophilia and was a part of a six-year court battle over an article he wrote in the 1970s, called Men Loving Boys Loving Men.
While she said she finds the idea of sex between men and boys disgusting, Goldenberg defended Hannon's right to freedom of speech.
"Teachers should be able to express themselves freely inside and outside of the classroom," Goldenberg said.
The controversy over Hannon's teaching at Ryerson began with a Bird column in The Sun on Nov. 14, which led to an investigation of Hannon's teaching by the faculty of applied arts at Ryerson.