Heather Ann McConnell

The member pled guilty to professional misconduct after being criminally convicted of aggravated assault, break and enter with intent, and assault with a weapon.

The offences occurred off-duty when the member forcibly entered a residence and violently assaulted two individuals with a knife.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, finding that the member's egregious and violent conduct was fundamentally incompatible with the teaching profession.

The member's certificate of qualification and registration was revoked, and he was issued a reprimand.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for professional misconduct, alleging verbal abuse and inappropriate classroom management.

The member pleaded no contest to an agreed statement of facts, admitting to calling a student a 'mad dog', slamming a door in a student's face, and leaving a student unsupervised in the hallway.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a one-month suspension, and mandatory coursework on classroom management, noting the member's prior disciplinary history for similar conduct.

The member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for engaging in inappropriate electronic communications with two students via Instagram.

The member admitted to the allegations in an Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, including psychological or emotional abuse, failing to maintain professional boundaries, and conduct unbecoming a member.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a three-month suspension of the member's certificate, and the successful completion of a course on boundary violations.

The Member, an occasional teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for verbally, physically, and psychologically abusing students, and for behaving inappropriately towards students and colleagues.

The Member pleaded no contest to the allegations, admitting to incidents including hitting a student with a binder, yelling at students, making inappropriate comments, and verbally abusing a Vice-Principal.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a written reprimand, a six-month suspension of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and the successful completion of a course on professional ethics, anger management, and cultural sensitivity before resuming teaching.

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

The Member consented to the motion.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, noting that the Member's case had already been dealt with by another Committee of the College, making the withdrawal reasonable and in the public interest.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for psychologically and emotionally abusing a student.

The Member struck a desk, yelled at the student, and made inappropriate comparisons that caused the student to cry.

The Discipline Committee accepted the guilty plea and the joint submission on penalty.

The Member was reprimanded, suspended for two months, and ordered to complete coursework on classroom management and discipline.

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

The member's case had already been dealt with by another committee of the College.

The member consented to the motion.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding that the withdrawal was reasonable and served to protect the public interest.

The Member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for making culturally insensitive remarks to a student regarding his home country and for using her personal cell phone to audio record student behaviour without a valid pedagogical reason.

The Discipline Committee accepted the guilty plea and found the Member committed professional misconduct, including verbal and psychological abuse.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the Member to complete a course in classroom management and cultural sensitivity.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for inappropriately interfering in the administration of the Grade 3 EQAO assessment by writing in student booklets, circling key words, and drawing arrows to direct students' attention.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a two-month suspension of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and the successful completion of a course in professional ethics.

The member faced a discipline hearing before the regulatory college for multiple incidents of professional misconduct, including verbal and physical abuse of students, failing to supervise students, attending meetings under the influence of alcohol, and an impaired driving conviction.

The member pleaded no contest to the allegations.

The discipline committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a one-month suspension of the certificate of qualification, and the completion of coursework on appropriate boundaries and supervision.

The province enacted Bill 5, reducing Toronto wards from 47 to 25, mid-municipal election.

Applicants challenged its constitutionality.

The court found Bill 5 violated candidates' and voters' freedom of expression under s. 2(b) of the Charter, as it substantially interfered with campaign communication and denied effective representation due to increased ward sizes.

The violation was not justified under s. 1, as the legislative objectives (better decision-making, voter parity) were not pressing and substantial enough to warrant mid-election implementation, nor was minimal impairment demonstrated.

The impugned provisions were declared unconstitutional and set aside, requiring the election to proceed with 47 wards.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for inappropriately administering the Grade 3 EQAO assessment.

During the test, the Member helped students answer questions, translated words, allowed a nutrition break, and prompted students to change their answers.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a three-month suspension of the Member's certificate, and the completion of a professional ethics course.

The Member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for using pseudonyms to send emails and post online comments falsely alleging that a student was bullying her child, and making false allegations about the student's parents.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and the completion of courses on ethics and professional boundaries.

The Committee also ordered that the findings and order be published with the Member's name in the College's official publication, rejecting the Member's request for anonymity given her disregard for the privacy and reputation of others.

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

The Member communicated with a student on Facebook about personal matters and sexual orientation, provided DVDs with sexual content, and shared confidential information about another student who had sexually propositioned him.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a 20-day retroactive suspension, and mandatory coursework on professional boundaries.

The member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in inappropriate electronic communications and boundary violations with two students.

The member communicated with a student via Facebook about personal matters, sexual orientation, and safe sex, and provided the student with DVDs containing sexual content.

The member also shared confidential information about another student.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a 20-day retroactive suspension, and the completion of a course on professional boundaries.

The member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in boundary violations and inappropriate electronic communications with two students.

The member provided DVDs with sexual content to one student, shared confidential information about another student, and failed to report a sexual proposition.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a 20-day retroactive suspension, completion of a course on professional boundaries, and publication of the decision with the member's name.

The Member, a teacher, received three consecutive unsatisfactory performance appraisals noting concerns in lesson planning, curriculum delivery, communication, and evaluation.

Her employment was subsequently terminated.

At a discipline hearing, the Member pled to incompetence and the parties submitted a Memorandum of Agreement.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission, finding the Member incompetent and ordering terms, conditions, and limitations on her certificate, including the requirement to complete an additional qualification course before resuming teaching.

The Ontario College of Teachers alleged that the Member, a teacher, committed professional misconduct by using physical force to direct and drag two students on separate occasions.

The Discipline Committee found that the College failed to prove the allegations.

Regarding the first incident, no direct evidence was presented.

Regarding the second incident, the Committee found that the Member used force to manage a student who posed a potential threat to himself and others, but the force was not excessive and did not result in any injuries.

The allegations of professional misconduct were dismissed.

The Member, a Grade 8 teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for allowing students to leave their cabin unsupervised during a class trip and for posting photos of students on her personal Facebook page without parental permission.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member guilty.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and the completion of a professional boundaries course.

The Committee also ordered that the findings and order be published with the Member's name, rejecting the Member's request for publication without name, to serve the principles of specific and general deterrence.

The applicant alleged age discrimination after his long-term disability benefits were terminated when he reached age 65.

The Tribunal held a summary hearing to determine if the application had a reasonable prospect of success.

The Tribunal found that the termination of benefits at age 65 is permitted by the exemption in section 25(2.1) of the Human Rights Code, which allows for age-based distinctions in group insurance plans that comply with the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and its regulations.

The application was dismissed as having no reasonable prospect of success.