Benjamin Piper

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for professional misconduct.

The member pleaded no contest to allegations of verbal and psychological abuse, failing to comply with ethical standards, and engaging in disgraceful and unprofessional conduct.

The uncontested facts established that the member repeatedly used a racial slur in front of students and made disparaging remarks about their intelligence and clothing.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, finding it fell within a range of acceptable outcomes.

The member was reprimanded, her teaching certificate was suspended for two months, and she was ordered to complete a course on appropriate communication and cultural sensitivity.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a motion seeking leave to withdraw all allegations of incompetence against the Member.

The allegations arose from three unsatisfactory performance appraisals that were subsequently annulled after the Member grieved his dismissal.

In exchange for the withdrawal, the Member entered into an Undertaking and Acknowledgement requiring him to complete an additional qualification course and undergo two performance appraisals within 24 months.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding that proceeding with a hearing had no reasonable prospect of success and that the Undertaking adequately protected the public interest.

The applicant filed a human rights application alleging employment discrimination.

The union, acting as the applicant's bargaining agent, sought intervenor status, which was granted on consent.

The union and the respondents requested that the application be deferred pending the resolution of four outstanding grievances related to the same facts and human rights issues.

Over the applicant's objections regarding delay, the Tribunal deferred the application, noting that it is generally appropriate to defer when a parallel grievance process is underway to avoid concurrent proceedings and contradictory decisions.