Alexandre Blanchard

The Member, a teacher, was directed by her principal and vice-principal to create 'in-house' Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students who did not require accommodations, in order to improve the school's EQAO test results.

The Member complied with these instructions despite knowing the practice was irregular.

She pled no contest to allegations of professional misconduct.

The Discipline Committee found her guilty of failing to maintain the standards of the profession, failing to comply with the Education Act, and engaging in unprofessional and unbecoming conduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand and required the Member to complete a course on professional ethics.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member for professional misconduct.

While on probation, the member developed approximately 23 Individual Education Plans (IEPs) without consulting parents or classroom teachers, at the specific request of his principal and vice-principal, to improve EQAO test results.

The member expressed concerns but feared losing his job if he did not obey instructions.

The member pleaded no contest to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct for failing to maintain the standards of the profession, failing to comply with the Education Act, and engaging in unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the member to complete a course on professional ethics.

The Member, a school vice principal, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for his involvement in irregular practices related to the administration of EQAO tests and the development of Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

He signed IEPs without consulting parents, authorized inappropriate test deferrals, and allowed students to write tests in a manner contrary to EQAO instructions.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, an eight-month suspension (reducible to six months upon completion of conditions), and the successful completion of a professional ethics course.

The member, a school principal, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for contravening EQAO and Ministry of Education instructions during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years.

The member approved non-compliant Individual Education Plans without consulting parents or informing other teaching staff, implemented inappropriate EQAO test deferrals, and failed to adequately supervise the vice-principal, who allowed students to write tests in a manner that contravened EQAO instructions.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a nine-month suspension (reducible to seven months upon successful completion of a professional ethics course), and the imposition of terms and conditions on the member's certificate.

The appellant appealed the summary dismissal of a medical malpractice action arising from the death of his common law spouse from terminal brain cancer.

The appellant alleged that the defendant physicians breached the standard of care by terminating the drug dexamethasone without tapering and by failing to obtain informed consent.

The motion judge dismissed the action after finding that the appellant's expert evidence was insufficient to establish a genuine issue requiring trial.

The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal, finding that the appellant failed to provide qualified expert evidence on standard of care and causation, and that the evidence supported informed consent had been obtained.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member who had been criminally convicted of sexual exploitation of a student.

The member did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct for engaging in a sexual relationship with the student, which included kissing and inappropriate communication.

Given the serious nature of the sexual abuse, the member's abuse of trust, and the aggravating factors identified in the criminal proceedings, the Committee ordered the revocation of the member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration.

The Ontario College of Teachers alleged that the respondent member was incompetent and guilty of professional misconduct due to significant deficiencies in classroom management, planning, and teaching strategies.

The allegations were based primarily on the evidence of a school principal who conducted performance appraisals.

The Discipline Committee found the principal's evidence to be unreliable, inconsistent with contemporaneous documents, and contradicted by video evidence of the member's teaching.

The Committee also noted the College's failure to call expert evidence to establish the standard of competence expected of teachers.

Concluding that the College failed to meet its burden of proof on a balance of probabilities, the Committee dismissed all allegations of incompetence and professional misconduct.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a teacher who allegedly abused at least 19 students verbally, physically, and psychologically in a single day.

The member did not attend the hearing.

Relying on the testimony of the investigating vice-principal, who was qualified as a participant expert, and one student witness, the Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct.

The Committee concluded that the member failed to maintain the standards of the profession and engaged in disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

The member was ordered to receive a reprimand, serve a six-month suspension, and complete a course in classroom management before returning to teaching.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member who had been criminally convicted of sexual assault and sexual interference involving a Grade [XXX] female student.

The member did not attend the hearing.

Relying on the criminal conviction, the Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of a student.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed that his name be published in the College's official publication.

The Member, a teacher, was found guilty of professional misconduct following criminal convictions for luring a child, transmitting sexually explicit material to a child, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member's conduct was reprehensible and breached multiple provisions of Ontario Regulation 437/97.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed the publication of his name in the College's official publication.

The plaintiff brought a medical malpractice claim against several physician and hospital defendants following the death of his common-law spouse from aggressive brain cancer.

The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing a lack of expert evidence to establish professional negligence and causation, and that the duty to obtain informed consent rested with the physicians, not the hospital pharmacies.

The court granted summary judgment, dismissing the action, finding no genuine issue requiring a trial as the plaintiff's expert evidence was insufficient and causation was not established.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against the member for professional misconduct.

The member did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct under multiple subsections of Ontario Regulation 437/97.

As a penalty, the Committee directed the revocation of the member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and ordered the publication of the decision.

Following a successful summary judgment motion dismissing the plaintiff's action, the Eckhaus Defendants sought substantial indemnity costs.

The plaintiff had made serious, unfounded allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and sexual harassment against Dr. Eckhaus.

The court found these allegations to be outrageous and reckless, justifying an award of substantial indemnity costs.

After reviewing the parties' bills of costs and considering proportionality, complexity, and importance, the court fixed the costs payable by the plaintiff to the Eckhaus Defendants at $45,645.60, inclusive of HST and disbursements.

The Member was previously found guilty of professional misconduct and ordered to appear before the Discipline Committee to receive a verbal reprimand.

The Member failed to appear despite numerous warnings and efforts by the College.

The Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct for failing to comply with the previous order, demonstrating a lack of respect for the College's authority.

The Committee ordered that the Member receive a verbal reprimand prior to accepting any teaching position, suspended his Certificate of Qualification and Registration for three months, and directed publication of the decision with his name.

The plaintiff, a registered nurse who underwent massive weight loss, sued her plastic surgeon, his professional corporation, a hospital, and a nurse after the nurse asked an allegedly inappropriate question during surgery while the plaintiff was awake.

The surgeon and his corporation moved for summary judgment to dismiss the action against them.

The court applied the Hryniak test and reviewed the plaintiff's own expert report, which established that the surgeon met the standard of care for preoperative, technical, and postoperative care.

The court found that the surgeon also met the subjective standard of care for intraoperative management and patient advocacy, as he did not perceive the question as derogatory or know the plaintiff felt insulted at the time.

Finding no genuine issue requiring a trial, the court granted the motion and dismissed the action against the surgeon and his corporation.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against the Member, an experienced teacher, alleging professional misconduct and incompetence.

The Member received three unsatisfactory performance appraisals during the 2008-2009 school year, demonstrating significant deficiencies in classroom management, planning, teaching methods, adaptive teaching for a student with special needs, and supervision.

The Member also used inappropriate disciplinary measures, such as pulling a chair out from under a student, and failed to adequately supervise students, leading to an incident where students viewed inappropriate content online.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct and incompetence in his absence.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, a three-month suspension, and imposed conditions requiring the Member to complete specific coursework before returning to teaching.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a motion to permit four witnesses to testify by videoconference or Skype.

The witnesses lived in remote areas of Ontario, and one was undergoing chemotherapy.

The member did not attend the hearing and was not represented.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding that the witnesses' testimony was material, they were unable to attend in person due to distance and medical reasons, and the member failed to prove any undue adverse effect.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for entering schools outside of work hours without permission and taking approximately $600 from a petty cash box and a pair of snowshoes.

The Member pleaded no contest to the allegations and admitted the facts.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and a three-month suspension.

The Committee also ordered the publication of the Member's name in the College's official publication, rejecting the Member's argument that publication would hinder his rehabilitation from a pathological gambling disorder.

The College brought a discipline proceeding against a teacher who had been criminally convicted of sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching involving several young male students.

The teacher did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found the teacher guilty of professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of a student.

The Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the teacher's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed that the decision be published with her names to protect the public interest and deter similar conduct.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member who co-authored a published novel containing sexualized content and negative stereotypes involving fictional high-school students and teachers.

The member resigned from the College and did not attend the hearing, but signed an Agreed Statement of Facts and Plea of No Contest.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct for engaging in conduct unbecoming a member.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a written admonishment and recorded the member's undertaking never to teach again or seek reinstatement.