Erica Richler

The College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a registrant for failing to comply with a previous committee decision requiring completion of continuing education courses, and for practising dental hygiene while her certificate of registration was suspended for non-payment of fees.

The registrant admitted to the allegations via an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found the registrant committed professional misconduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a three-month suspension, completion of specified ethics and jurisprudence courses, and $1,000 in costs.

The applicant filed a human rights application alleging the respondent failed to accommodate her disability-related needs regarding its quality assurance program.

She requested an interim remedy to prevent the respondent from terminating her right to practice naturopathy.

The Tribunal denied the request, finding that the applicant failed to meet the significant onus under Rule 23.2.

The Tribunal noted that the alleged harm was entirely speculative at this stage and that an interim remedy was not necessary to ensure the Tribunal could award an effective remedy if a Code violation were ultimately found.

The College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario alleged that the registrant committed professional misconduct by failing to comply with an order of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee to complete a portfolio development course.

The registrant admitted to the allegations and pled guilty.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a two-month suspension, completion of specified ethics and jurisprudence courses, and $1,200 in costs.

The member, an occasional teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for impersonating his wife to complete her occasional teaching assignments on numerous occasions over a three-year period.

The member used his wife's gender-neutral name to deceive the school board and gain financially.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a nine-month suspension of his teaching certificate, and the completion of a professional ethics course.

The Committee also ordered the publication of the member's name in the College's official publication, finding that the aggravating factors of premeditated, fraudulent conduct for financial gain outweighed the mitigating factors.

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 College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario brought professional misconduct allegations against a registrant for failing to comply with an order to complete a specified continuing education or remediation program and failing to cooperate with a College investigator.

The registrant did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found the registrant guilty of professional misconduct, concluding she was ungovernable.

The Committee ordered the immediate revocation of her certificate of registration and required her to pay $9,500 in costs.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded no contest to allegations of professional misconduct for sending sexually suggestive and personal text and Facebook messages to current and former students over a three-year period.

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

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a six-month suspension, and completion of a boundary course.

The Committee also ordered publication of the decision with the Member's name, emphasizing the need for specific and general deterrence given the serious violation of teacher-student boundaries.

The Member, a retired teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for engaging in inappropriate physical contact with a student, playing inappropriate videos in class, and making comments that made female students uncomfortable.

The Member pleaded guilty to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member guilty of professional misconduct, including failing to maintain the standards of the profession, psychological or emotional abuse, and disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a Joint Submission on Penalty, ordering a reprimand, a one-month suspension of the Member's certificate, and a requirement to complete a course on boundary violations and professional ethics before returning to teaching.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct after making an inappropriate sexual comment to a Grade 12 female student and staring at female students inappropriately.

The Discipline Committee accepted the agreed statement of facts and found the Member guilty of professional misconduct, including failing to maintain the standards of the profession and psychological or emotional abuse of a student.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, the completion of a course on professional boundaries, and publication of the decision with the Member's name.

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.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in inappropriate electronic communications and boundary violations with a vulnerable student.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a one-month suspension of his teaching certificate, and the completion of a course on professional boundaries.

The Member, a secondary school teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct after admitting to stealing approximately $1,140 from a colleague's bank account.

She had previously pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of possession of property obtained by crime and received a conditional discharge.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and the completion of an ethics course.

The Committee also ordered the publication of the Member's name in the College's official publication, finding that the serious nature of the theft outweighed mitigating factors such as her guilty plea and clean prior record.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a shop teacher for multiple incidents of verbal, physical, and psychological abuse of students, as well as endangering student safety.

The Discipline Committee found the teacher guilty of professional misconduct, noting he used profane language, threw objects at students, pushed a student's head onto a table saw, and deliberately scratched a student's safety glasses before instructing him to weld.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the teacher's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed publication of the decision with his name.

The Member, a teacher, pled guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in inappropriate electronic communications with students via Facebook.

The communications involved boundary violations, sharing inappropriate personal information, making derogatory comments about colleagues and other students, and emotionally manipulating students by forcing them to choose between him and their friends.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member guilty of professional misconduct, including verbal, psychological, and emotional abuse.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and publication of the decision with the Member's name, noting that the Member had also entered into an Undertaking and Acknowledgment requiring counselling.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for inappropriate touching and comments directed at a female colleague and multiple female students.

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

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of students.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a four-month suspension, completion of boundary and anger management courses, and publication of the decision with the Member's name.

The College brought a motion seeking leave to withdraw allegations of professional misconduct against the Member.

The parties agreed to the withdrawal in exchange for the Member's undertaking to resign immediately, never seek reinstatement, and never teach again in Ontario.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding that the withdrawal in exchange for the undertaking was reasonable and protected the public interest.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a motion seeking leave to withdraw the allegations of professional misconduct against the member set out in the Notice of Hearing.

The member consented to the motion.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, noting that the member would be directed to be dealt with by another Committee of the College, and found that the withdrawal was reasonable and served to protect the public interest.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought discipline proceedings against a teacher for making inappropriate comments to students, grabbing a student by her coat, and initiating inappropriate electronic communications with a student via Facebook.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, noting his behaviour was verbally, physically, and emotionally abusive, and fell below professional standards.

The member, who did not attend the hearing, was ordered to receive a reprimand, serve a three-month suspension, complete anger and classroom management courses, and have the decision published.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member who engaged in a sexual relationship with a student in the 1986-1987 academic year.

The member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct and sexual abuse of a student based on an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee accepted a Joint Submission on Penalty, ordering the revocation of the member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and publication of the decision with the member's name.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for professional misconduct, alleging she made inappropriate comments, used profanity, and verbally abused students in her classroom.

The member pleaded no contest to the allegations and admitted to the uncontested facts.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a one-month retroactive suspension, and the completion of coursework on appropriate boundaries and classroom management.

The Committee also ordered that the member's name be published in the College's official publication, finding that the aggravating factors, including a pattern of repeated behaviour despite previous board interventions, outweighed the mitigating factors.