DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE 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
David Gagnon, OCT, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
PANEL: Wes Vickers, OCT, Chair Thomas (Tom) Potter Marie-Claude Yaacov
BETWEEN:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS – and – DAVID GAGNON (CERTIFICATE #618094)
Joanne Excellent, Legal Counsel, for Ontario College of Teachers
Robyn White, Cavalluzzo Shilton McIntyre Cornish LLP, for David Gagnon
Julie Maciura, Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, Independent Legal Counsel
Heard: November 2, 2015
DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDERS
This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on November 2, 2015 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
A Notice of Hearing dated June 1, 2015 (Exhibit 1) was served on David Gagnon (the “Member”), requesting his presence on June 15, 2015 to set a date for hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for November 2, 2015.
The Member was in attendance for the hearing and had legal representation.
THE ALLEGATIONS
The allegations against the Member in the Notice of Hearing are as follows:
IT IS ALLEGED that the Member is guilty of professional misconduct and/or is incompetent as defined in subsections 30(2) and 30(3) 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 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);
(c) he displayed a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment and/or disregard for the welfare of his students of a nature or extent that demonstrates that the Member is unfit to continue to carry out his professional responsibilities or that the Member’s certificate should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations.
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 the following:
David Gagnon is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Attached to Exhibit 2 at Tab “A” is a copy of the Ontario College of Teachers Registered Member Information with respect to the Member.
At all material times, the Member was employed by the Peel District School Board (the “Board”) as a teacher at [XXX] School in Mississauga, Ontario.
During the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years, the Member taught a Grade [XXX] [XXX] class at the School.
In the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years, the Member underwent four performance appraisals performed by the School administration.
The Member’s first appraisal was conducted in February 2012. The Member received an overall performance rating of Satisfactory.
During the course of the following three appraisals, the Principal and Vice-Principal determined that his teaching was unsatisfactory.
For the second appraisal conducted in November 2012, the Member received an overall performance rating of development needed in the areas of Commitment to Pupils and Pupil Learning, Professional Knowledge and Professional Practice. Attached to Exhibit 2 at Tab “B” is a copy of the Summative Report Form for the Member, dated November 30, 2012.
As a result of the unsatisfactory performance appraisal, an Enrichment Plan was put in place. The Enrichment Plan outlined the competencies requiring improvement, the expectations, steps to be taken for improvement and available support. Attached to Exhibit 2 at Tab “C” is a copy of the December 20, 2012 Enrichment Plan.
The Member underwent a third performance appraisal in June 2013, in which he received an overall performance rating of unsatisfactory. Attached to Exhibit 2 at Tab “D” is a copy of the Summative Report Form for the Member, dated June 12, 2013.
In March 2014, the Member underwent a fourth performance appraisal in which he received overall performance rating of unsatisfactory. Attached to Exhibit 2 at Tab “E” is a copy of the Summative Report Form for the Member, dated March 25, 2014.
On May 9, 2014, the Member resigned from his employment with the Board. Attached to Exhibit 2 at Tab “F” is a copy of the Member’s formal letter of resignation.
PLEA OF NO CONTEST
The Member does not contest the facts referred to above (the “Uncontested Facts”) and agrees that the Discipline Committee can accept these facts as correct for the purposes of this proceeding only.
The Member pleads no contest to the allegation that he has displayed a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment and/or disregard for the welfare of his students of nature or extent that demonstrates that his Certificate should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations, as defined in subsection 30(3) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996.
By this document the Member states that:
(a) he understands fully the nature of the allegations against him;
(b) he 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) he 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) he 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;
(e) he understands and acknowledges that he is executing this Agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and with the advice of legal counsel;
- In light of the Uncontested Facts and circumstances and the plea of no contest to the allegation of incompetence, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Member submit that the Discipline Committee find the Member to be incompetent as defined in subsection 30(3) of the Act.
DECISION
Counsel for the College requested that the allegations of professional misconduct outlined in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the Notice of Hearing be withdrawn. The Committee granted the request.
Having considered the Statement of Uncontested Facts and Guilty Plea, the Committee finds that the facts support a finding of incompetence. In particular, the Committee finds that the Member displayed in his professional responsibilities a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment or disregard for the welfare of his students of a nature or extent that demonstrates that the Member is unfit to continue to carry out his professional responsibilities or that his Certificate should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations, as defined in subsection 30(3) of the Act.
REASONS FOR DECISION
The Member did not contest the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 11 of the Statement of Uncontested Facts and Plea of No Contest and pleaded no contest to the allegation of incompetence against him. He acknowledged and the Committee accepts that the Uncontested Facts give rise to a finding of incompetence as defined in subsection 30(3) of the Act.
Paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the Statement of Uncontested Facts and Plea of No Contest demonstrate that the Member displayed in his professional responsibilities a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment or disregard for the welfare of his students of a nature or extent that demonstrates that the Member is unfit to continue to carry out his professional responsibilities or that his Certificate should be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations, as defined in section 30(3) of the Act.
JOINT SUBMISSION ON PENALTY
Through a Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 4), Counsel for the College and Counsel for the Member jointly submitted that the appropriate penalty to be imposed by the Discipline Committee in this matter would be that the Committee:
- Direct the Registrar to impose the following terms, conditions or limitations on the Member’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration, the fact of such terms, conditions, or limitations to be recorded on the Register of the Ontario College of Teachers until such time as they are fulfilled:
(a) prior to seeking or engaging in employment where a Certificate of Qualification and Registration is required, the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at his own expense, the following course pre-approved by the Registrar:
(i) an accredited Additional Basic Qualification or Additional Qualification course;
(b) within 30 days of his completion of the course outlined in (i) above, the Member shall provide the Registrar with a written certificate from the course practitioner stating that:
(i) he or she has reviewed a copy of the Statement of Uncontested Facts and Plea of No Contest and Joint Submission on Penalty, documents made exhibits at the hearing of this matter, and the Decision, Reasons for Decision and Orders of the Discipline Committee; and
(ii) the Member has successfully completed the course; and
(c) the Member shall provide the Registrar with a copy of his next Performance Appraisal, within 30 days of completion.
PENALTY DECISION
The Committee accepts the Joint Submission on Penalty presented by the parties and makes an order in accordance with its terms, as set out above.
REASONS FOR PENALTY DECISION
The Committee accepts the penalty jointly proposed by the parties. The Committee recognizes that, once it ensures that it has jurisdiction to make the order requested, the law confines the Committee’s role to determining whether the proposed penalty is so unreasonable that accepting it would bring the administration of justice or the discipline process into disrepute. The Committee finds that the penalty proposed in the Joint Submission on Penalty is proportionate to the incompetence of the Member and is reasonable given the circumstances of this case.
The Member is required to complete an Additional Qualification or Additional Basic Qualification course prior to resuming any teaching responsibilities. This coursework will help the Member to acquire the necessary skills to improve his practice and it will remind him of the competencies expected of a teacher. Accordingly, the course will address the Member’s teaching deficiencies and it will serve to rehabilitate the Member.
The Committee is satisfied that the public interest is served by imposing these terms, conditions or limitations on the Member’s certificate.
Date: November 9, 2015
Wes Vickers, OCT Chair, Discipline Panel
Thomas (Tom) Potter Member, Discipline Panel
Marie-Claude Yaacov Member, Discipline Panel