Kirsty Niglas-Collins

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member who inappropriately accessed sick leave on three occasions to perform tasks related to his personal event-planning business.

The member deceived the school board by claiming he was ill or attending medical appointments.

The member pled guilty to professional misconduct, including failing to maintain the standards of the profession and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, or unprofessional conduct.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the member to complete a course on ethical practice.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for a pattern of abusive behaviour towards students, including swearing at them, calling them derogatory names, making violent threats about bringing a weapon to school, and physically pushing students.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a six-month suspension of her teaching certificate, and the completion of anger management and classroom communication coursework before returning to teaching.

The Member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for making inappropriate comments to students about her recently-deceased principal committing suicide and her own prior experiences with attempted suicide.

The comments caused distress to students.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the Member to complete a course on professional communication and boundary issues.

The Member, a teacher, pled guilty to professional misconduct for failing to maintain appropriate boundaries with two students.

He sent inappropriate private Facebook messages to one student and engaged in an inappropriate relationship with another, which included electronic communications, inviting her to his home, and encouraging her to deny the relationship during a school investigation.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the Member to complete a course on appropriate boundaries and boundary violations before resuming any teaching position.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for making inappropriate, sexist, and demeaning comments to students, including those with special needs, and for mocking the school principal.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member guilty of verbal and psychological abuse, failing to maintain professional standards, and engaging in disgraceful and unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the Member to complete a comprehensive course on professional boundaries.

The Member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct after making unwanted physical contact with a co-worker in a windowless storage room.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member guilty of failing to maintain professional standards, engaging in disgraceful or unprofessional conduct, and conduct unbecoming a member.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a two-month suspension of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and the successful completion of a course on professional boundaries.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against the respondent member for professional misconduct, including the sexual abuse of a student.

The parties presented a Statement of Uncontested Facts and Plea of No Contest, admitting that the respondent engaged in an inappropriate personal and sexual relationship with a student.

The Discipline Committee accepted the uncontested facts and found the respondent guilty of professional misconduct.

Pursuant to the mandatory penalty provisions of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, the Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the respondent's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed that he receive an oral reprimand.

The Member, a secondary school teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for repeatedly grabbing or attempting to grab the genitals of male colleagues while intoxicated at off-duty events, and engaging in a physical fight as a result.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand (delivered via video conference), a three-month suspension of his Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and the successful completion of a course on professional interactions and boundary violations prior to any return to teaching.

The member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct after interfering with school and police investigations into an allegation of sexual assault between two students.

The member met with the complainant without authorization, tricked her into believing he had evidence, and videotaped her apologizing to the accused student without parental consent.

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

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for making inappropriate physical contact with female students and taking pictures of them without their consent.

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

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

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for repeatedly using profanity, making inappropriate gestures, discussing his personal marijuana use, and making inappropriate sexual remarks about his genitals in the presence of students.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and a course on student sensitivities.

The Committee also ordered that the Member's name be published in the College's official publication, finding that the aggravating factors of repeated misconduct despite prior warnings outweighed the mitigating factors.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Discipline Committee of the Ontario College of Teachers, which found she made false reports of abuse against a fellow teacher and revoked her teaching certificate.

The Divisional Court applied a reasonableness standard of review and found no basis to interfere with the Committee's factual findings or credibility assessments.

The court also upheld the penalty of revocation, finding it fell within the range of reasonable outcomes given the serious nature of falsely accusing a colleague of abuse.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.

The Member, a Transportation Technology teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for transferring a donated vehicle's engine to a staff member's private vehicle, removing a donated vehicle to his private residence, disposing of two donated vehicles without authorization, and leaving school early without permission.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and 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 and repeated nature of the misconduct outweighed the mitigating factors.

The member was found guilty of professional misconduct for falsely reporting to school administrators that a colleague had physically and sexually abused a student.

The Discipline Committee found that the member had no reasonable grounds to suspect abuse and that her false allegations were extremely damaging to her colleague's career and personal life.

At the penalty hearing, the College sought revocation of the member's teaching certificate, while the member argued for a lesser penalty, citing her unblemished record and the potential chilling effect on the duty to report.

The Committee concluded that the aggravating factors, including the severity and repeated nature of the false allegations, significantly outweighed the mitigating factors.

The Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed that the decision be published with her name.