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 Kim Doris Gervais, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers
PANEL: Robert Gagné, Chair Jean-Luc Bernard, OCT Sara Nouini, OCT
BETWEEN:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS Christine Lonsdale and Alexandre Blanchard, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, for Ontario College of Teachers
- and –
KIM DORIS GERVAIS (CERTIFICATE #426789) Kim Doris Gervais was not present or represented Renée Kopp, Jones Litigation Counsel LLP, Independent Legal Counsel
Heard: October 6, 2015
DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDERS
This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on October 6, 2015 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
A Notice of Hearing dated January 29, 2015 (Exhibit 1) was served on Kim Doris Gervais (the “Member”), requesting her attendance before the Committee on March 31, 2015 to set a date for hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for October 6, 2015.
The Member was not in attendance at the hearing, nor was she represented by legal counsel.
Counsel for the College submitted an Affidavit of Annie Lacroix (Exhibit 4) sworn September 15, 2015 and a Supplementary Affidavit of Annie Lacroix sworn October 2, 2015 (Exhibit 5), to prove that the Member had been informed of the allegations against her, the date and time of the hearing and the penalty being sought. In these affidavits, Ms. Lacroix, a law clerk with McCarthy Tétrault LLP, outlines her communications with the Member’s counsel when he was representing the Member during the criminal proceedings, with the Member’s brother and with the Member’s former probation officer. The two Affidavits show that Ms. Lacroix made every possible attempt to contact the Member, and to provide proof of service of all required documents by registered mail to the Member’s home address as shown in the records of the College.
On the basis of these Affidavits and Rules 2.03 and 4.01 of the College’s Rules of Procedure of the Discipline Committee and of the Fitness to Practise Committee, the Committee was satisfied that the Member had been served with the Notice of Hearing and all disclosure documents, and was aware of the date and time of the hearing and the penalty being sought. The Committee therefore heard this matter in the absence of the Member.
ORDER OF NON-PUBLICATION
In R. v. Gervais (Exhibit 6, Tab E), Madam Justice L. Gauthier of the Superior Court of Justice made an order of non-publication and non-broadcast pursuant to subsection 486.4 of the Criminal Code of Canada. The Committee is therefore required to uphold this publication ban. Accordingly, there shall be no publication of any information that might tend to identify the victim or witnesses involved in this matter.
THE ALLEGATIONS
The allegations against the Member in the Notice of Hearing are as follows:
IT IS ALLEGED that Kim Doris Gervais is guilty of professional misconduct as defined in subsections 30(2) and 40(1.1) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the “Act”), in that:
a) she failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5);
b) she abused