Ontario College of Teachers v George, 2014 ONOCT 41

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

Citation: Ontario College of Teachers v George, 2014 ONOCT 41

Date: 2014-10-09

IN THE MATTER OF the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the "Act") and the Regulation (Ontario Regulation 437/97) thereunder;

AND IN THE MATTER OF a discipline proceeding against

Ignatius George, OCT, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.

PANEL: Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT, Chair

Irene Dembek, OCT

Pauline Smart

BETWEEN: ) David Leonard,

) McCarthy Tétrault LLP, ) for Ontario College of Teachers,

ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS ) assisted by Bev Hodsdon,

) Law Clerk

• and – )

IGNATIUS GEORGE, OCT ) Jerry Raso,

(CERTIFICATE #269241) ) Ontario English Catholic Teachers ) Association,

) for Ignatius George, OCT

) Rebecca Durcan,

) Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, ) Independent Legal Counsel

) ) Heard: August 27, 2014

DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDERS

This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the "Committee") on August 27, 2014 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the "College") at Toronto.

A Notice of Hearing dated August 16, 2011 was served on Ignatius George (the "Member"), requesting his presence on August 25, 2011 to set a date for a hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for August 27, 2014.

The Member was in attendance at the hearing.

THE ALLEGATIONS

The allegations against the Member in the Notice of Hearing dated August 16, 2011 (Exhibit 1) are as follows:

IT IS ALLEGED that Ignatius George is guilty of professional misconduct as defined in subsection 30(2) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the "Act") in that:

(a) he failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5);

(b) he abused a student or students verbally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7);

(c) he abused a student or students physically, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.1);

(d) he abused a student or students psychologically or emotionally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.2);

(e) he failed to comply with the Education Act, Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990, chapter E.2, and specifically subsection 264(1) thereof or the Regulations made under that Act, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(15);

(f) he committed acts that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(18);

(g) he engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).

STATEMENT OF UNCONTESTED FACTS

Counsel for the College advised the Committee that an agreement had been reached on the facts and introduced a Statement of Uncontested Facts and Plea of No Contest (Exhibit 2), which provides as follows:

1. At all material times, the Member was a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit "A" is a copy of the Ontario College of Teachers Registered Member Information respecting the Member.

2. The Member was employed by the Toronto Catholic District School Board (the "Board") at all material times hereto and was a [XXX] teacher at [XXX] School (the "School") in Toronto, Ontario.

3. During the 2009-2010 academic year, Student A was an [XXX] year-old male student with [XXX] in the Member's class.

4. On or about May 20, 2010, Student A was seated in a chair in the hallway waiting to go outside. On that day, Student A was acting up in that he was spitting, hitting and kicking his Educational Assistant ("EA #1").

5. A second Educational Assistant ("EA #2") came to the Member's classroom, advised the Member of Student A's behaviour, and asked the Member to come assist EA #1. The Member came out of the classroom and observed Student A kicking and spitting at EA #1, while screaming.

6. The Member shouted to Student A to stop kicking EA #1. Student A did not stop. The Member then observed Student A kick EA #1 twice in the stomach.

7. The Member approached Student A, who attempted to punch the Member in the stomach. The Member struck Student A's face with his hand, causing Student A's head to hit a wall behind him. Attached and marked as Exhibit "B" is a statement by EA #1. Also attached and marked as Exhibit "C" is a statement by EA #2, who witnessed the incident.

8. Student A started to cry out loud, for approximately one minute. The Member then said to Student A something to the effect of "how are you feeling, when you hurt others that is how it feels". The Student went to EA #1 for a hug. His head was checked for swelling; there was none.

9. The Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto was notified of the incident and conducted an investigation to which there was verifications of "physical force being used, resulting in the child being harmed by a community caregiver". Attached and marked as Exhibit "D" is a copy of the letter from the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto dated July 9, 2010.

10. The Member served a five (5) day suspension with regards to the incidents with Student A from January 3, 2011 to January 7, 2011 inclusive and was assigned a 0.5 transfer from the School. Attached and marked as Exhibit "E" is a letter of discipline from the Board dated January 3, 2011.

PLEA OF NO CONTEST

11. By this document the Member admits, for the purposes of this proceeding only, the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 10 above (the "Uncontested Facts").

12. The Member hereby acknowledges that the Uncontested Facts referred to in paragraph 11 above constitute conduct which is professional misconduct and pleads no contest to the allegations of professional misconduct against him, being more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(7), 1(7.1), 1(7.2), 1(15), 1(18 - unprofessional) and 1(19).

13. By this document the Member states that he:

(a) understands fully the nature of the allegations against him;

(b) understands that by signing this document he is consenting to the evidence as set out in the Uncontested Facts being presented to the Discipline Committee;

(c) understands that by pleading no contest to the allegations, he is waiving the right to require the College to prove the case against him and the right to have a hearing;

(d) understands that depending on the penalty ordered by the Discipline Committee, the decision of the Committee and a summary of its reasons, including reference to his name, may be published in the official publication of the College;

(e) understands that any agreement between his counsel and counsel for the College with respect to the penalty proposed in this document does not bind the Discipline Committee;

(f) understands and acknowledges that he is executing this Agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and with the advice of legal counsel.

14. The Member provides this Plea of No Contest pursuant to Rule 3.02 of the Rules of Civil Procedure of the Discipline Committee under protection of the Evidence Act, R.S.O. 1990, chapter E. 23, for the purpose of this proceeding under the Ontario College of Teachers Act 1996, chapter 12, and for no other purpose. The Member's Plea of No Contest does not constitute an admission by the Member as to the facts or findings in any other civil, criminal or administrative proceeding.

15. In light of the Uncontested Facts and circumstances, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Member submit that the Discipline Committee find the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

DECISION

Having considered the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions made by counsel for the College and counsel for the Member, the Committee finds that the facts support a finding of professional misconduct. In particular, the Committee finds that Ignatius George committed acts of professional misconduct as alleged, more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(7), 1(7.1), 1(7.2), 1(15), 1(18 - unprofessional) and 1(19).

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Member admitted the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 10 of the Statement of Uncontested Facts, and Plea of No Contest (Exhibit 2) and acknowledged that the Uncontested Facts referred to above constitute conduct which is professional misconduct and admitted to the allegations of professional misconduct against him. The Committee accepts the Member's Plea of No Contest and the statement tendered by the parties.

In light of the Member's behaviour and the Plea of No Contest, the Committee finds that the Member committed acts of professional misconduct, more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(7), 1(7.1), 1(7.2), 1(15), 1(18 - unprofessional) and 1(19).

JOINT SUBMISSION ON PENALTY

Counsel for the College and counsel for the Member submitted a Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 3) indicating the following:

The Ontario College of Teachers and the Member jointly submit that the appropriate penalty to be imposed by the Discipline Committee in this matter would be that the Committee:

(a) directs the Member to appear before the Committee immediately following the hearing of this matter to receive a reprimand and the fact of the reprimand is to be recorded on the Register of the Ontario College of Teachers (the "Register");

(b) directs the Registrar to impose the following terms, conditions, and limitations on the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, the fact of such terms, conditions, or limitations to be recorded on the Register until such time as they are fulfilled:

i. the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at his own expense, within ninety (90) days of the Decision of the Discipline Committee, a course of instruction pre-approved by the Registrar regarding classroom management, with a focus on dealing with students with [XXX].

ii. within thirty (30) days of his completion of the course outlined in (i) above, the Member shall provide to the Registrar a written certificate from the course provider stating that:

A. he or she has reviewed a copy of the Statement of Uncontested Facts, Plea of No Contest and Joint Submission on Penalty documents made exhibits at the hearing of this matter, and the Decision and Reasons of the Discipline Committee; and

B. the Member has successfully completed the course.

(c) directs that there be publication of the findings and order of the Committee in summary form in the official publication of the College Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession. The parties have not agreed on whether or not the Member's name should be included and submissions will be made on that issue.

SUBMISSIONS ON PUBLICATION

Submissions of College Counsel

Counsel for the College submitted that the Member's name should be published in Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession. Publication serves as a specific deterrent to the Member, acts as a general deterrent to the profession and is in the public interest. Publication with name is consistent with the principles of deterrence. College Counsel stated that the hearing was open to the public and that publication with name spoke to transparency of the process. College Counsel further stated that if the Committee were not to order publication of the Member's name they should clearly enunciate their reasons for not doing so.

Submissions of Member's Counsel

Counsel for the Member submitted that publication with name was not necessary or warranted and that the agreed penalty met all of the factors of penalty. Member's Counsel stated that this was an isolated incident in a 12-year career, that the incident happened four and a half years ago and that there have been no incidents since that time. Member's Counsel also submitted that the penalties already imposed by the Member's Board and the penalty imposed by the Discipline Committee were significant and that publication was therefore unnecessary.

Both counsel submitted case law in support of their respective positions regarding publication.

PENALTY DECISION

The Committee makes the following order as to penalty:

1. The Member is required to appear before the Committee immediately following the hearing of this matter to receive a reprimand, and the fact of the reprimand is to be recorded on the College Register.

2. The Registrar is directed to impose the following terms, conditions, and limitations on the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, the fact of such terms, conditions, or limitations to be recorded on the Register until such time as they are fulfilled:

(i) the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at his own expense, within ninety (90) days of the Decision of the Discipline Committee, a course of instruction pre-approved by the Registrar regarding classroom management, with a focus on dealing with students with [XXX].

(ii) within thirty (30) days of his completion of the course outlined in (i) above, the Member shall provide to the Registrar a written certificate from the course provider stating that:

A. the course provider has reviewed a copy of the Statement of Uncontested Facts, Plea of No Contest and Joint Submission on Penalty documents made exhibits at the hearing of this matter, and the Decision and Reasons of the Discipline Committee; and

B. the Member has successfully completed the course.

3. The findings and orders of the Committee shall be published in summary form, with the name of the Member, in the official publication of the College, Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession.

REASONS FOR PENALTY DECISION

The Committee determined that the Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 3) was proportionate to the misconduct committed by the Member and appropriate in the circumstances. Therefore, the Committee accepted the proposed penalty presented by the parties.

A reprimand addresses the need for a specific deterrent and will encourage the Member to consider his actions in the future. Coursework will provide the Member with strategies for effective classroom management and therefore satisfies the need for rehabilitation.

After carefully considering the submissions and case law presented by the parties, the Committee determined that publication with the Member's name in Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession was appropriate in the circumstances. The Member's actions were serious enough to warrant a verification by the Children's Aid Society of physical force being used, resulting in the child being harmed by a community caregiver. The Member's actions were also grave enough to warrant a five-day, unpaid suspension from his Board.

The Committee considered several aggravating factors in formulating its decision, including:

1. The student was a young, [XXX] student;
2. The Member has specialist qualifications in [XXX]; and
3. The Member engaged in a deliberate, physical altercation with the student.

The Member's conduct was completely unacceptable and brings the profession into disrepute.

The Committee is satisfied that the penalty is appropriate in the circumstances, and serves and protects the public interest.

Date: October 9, 2014

Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT Chair, Discipline Panel

Irene Dembek, OCT

Member, Discipline Panel

Pauline Smart

Member, Discipline Panel