Ontario College of Teachers v. Rice
OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
IN THE MATTER OF the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, and the Regulation (Ontario Regulation 437/97) thereunder;
AND IN THE MATTER OF a discipline proceeding against Ellen Rice, OCT, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
PANEL: Pauline Smart, Chair Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT Hanno Weinberger, OCT
BETWEEN:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS David Leonard, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, for Ontario College of Teachers, assisted by Annie Lacroix, Law Clerk
-and-
ELLEN RICE (CERTIFICATE # 171677) William Markle, Markle Schmid Munoz LLP, for Ellen Rice
Rebecca Durcan, Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, Independent Legal Counsel
Heard: November 13, 2014
DECISION ON MOTION
College counsel brought a motion to seek leave from a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) to withdraw the allegations set out in the Notice of Hearing dated August 8, 2011. Counsel was advised that Committee Member Hanno Weinberger had been the Presiding Officer at the Pre-Hearing dealing with this matter. Both counsel stated that they had no issue with Mr. Weinberger’s participation today.
Ellen Rice was not present for the hearing.
Having reviewed the facts of this case, College counsel advised that there had been no response from the key witness (Student A) after repeated attempts to communicate with him and his parents. College counsel stated that there was no evidence to support the allegations without Student A’s cooperation and therefore, there was no reasonable prospect of obtaining a finding of professional misconduct. This, combined with the age of the alleged incident dating back to 2009, resulted in College counsel seeking permission to withdraw the allegations of professional misconduct set out in the Notice of Hearing.
Independent legal counsel advised the Committee that it had the jurisdiction to make the order requested pursuant to Rule 4.1 of the Statutory Powers and Procedures Act.
Having considered the submissions of College counsel, the Committee authorizes the College to withdraw the allegations of professional misconduct against Ellen Rice set out in the Notice of Hearing dated August 8, 2011.
The Committee determined that the request for withdrawal is reasonable, appropriate and in the public interest.
Date: November 14, 2014
Pauline Smart Chair, Discipline Panel
Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT Member, Discipline Panel
Hanno Weinberger, OCT Member, Discipline Panel