Ontario College of Teachers v. Jones, 2015 ONOCT 42

DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

Citation: Ontario College of Teachers v Jones, 2015 ONOCT 42

Date: 2015-10-01

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

Jeffrey Parmenter Jones, OCT, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.

PANEL: Jean-Luc Bernard, OCT, Chair

Sara Nouini, OCT

Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT

BETWEEN: ) Alyssa Brierley,

) Legal Counsel, ) for Ontario College of Teachers

ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS )

– and – )

JEFFREY PARMENTER JONES ) Heather Alden,

(CERTIFICATE #449187) ) Ontario Secondary School Teachers’

) Federation,

) for Jeffrey Parmenter Jones

) Erica Richler,

) Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, ) Independent Legal Counsel

) ) Heard: September 4, 2015

DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDERS

This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on September 4, 2015 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.

A Notice of Hearing dated April 8, 2015 (Exhibit 1) was served on Jeffrey Parmenter Jones (the “Member”), requesting his attendance before the Discipline Committee on April 22, 2015 to set a date for hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for September 4, 2015.

The Member was in attendance for the hearing and had legal representation.

THE ALLEGATIONS

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

(e) 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); and

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

At the hearing on September 4, 2015, Counsel for the College requested that the allegation of professional misconduct outlined in paragraph (c) of the Notice of Hearing, namely the allegation that the Member contravened subsection 1(7.1) of Ontario Regulation 437/97, be withdrawn. The Committee granted the request.

AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS

Counsel for the College advised the Committee that an agreement had been reached on the facts and introduced an Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea (Exhibit 2), which provides as follows:

1. At all material times, Jeffrey Parmenter Jones was 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.

2. At all material times, the Member was employed by the Toronto District School Board (the “Board”) as a teacher at [XXX] (the “School”), in Toronto, Ontario. The Member was employed by the Board for 11 ½ years. Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation Toronto (the “Union”) indicates that the Member had no prior disciplinary history with the Board. Attached to Exhibit 2 at Tab “B” is a letter from the Union confirming that the Member had no prior disciplinary history with the Board.

3. Over the course of the 2012/2013 academic year, the Member used inappropriate course material containing over 100 “Dumb Blonde” and “Dead Baby” jokes to his Grade [XXX] [XXX] classes. If the Member were to testify he would say that he distributed the jokes in error, after photocopying and distributing an unedited list of jokes, rather than the edited list he had created for the class. They included but were not limited to:

(a) "What's funnier than a dead baby? A dead baby in a clown costume";

(b) "What's funnier than a dead baby? A baby sitting next to a kid with Down syndrome";

(c) "What do you call a dead baby with no arms and no legs in the middle of the ocean? Fucked";

(d) "When is it legal to shoot a blonde in the head? When you have a tire pump to

re-inflate it";

(e) "What do you call a zit on a blonde's ass? A brain tumor"; and

(f) "Why do blondes give such good blowjobs? Because that's what they train for all their lives."

4. On a number of occasions, the Member used the words “fuck”, “shit” and “bitch” during instructional periods and co-curricular activities.

5. On or about January 4, 2013, the Member posted the following inappropriate message on Facebook: "Dear Ms. Broten, Go fuck yourself. Actually. I understand that I am a teacher and therefor[sic] you get to dictate to me my rights for some reason. But go fuck yourself, hard." Attached to Exhibit 2 at Tab “D” is the copy of the Member’s Facebook posting.

6. On May 15, 2014, the Member voluntarily took a three-hour course covering professional boundaries.

7. The Member resigned from his employment with the Board on January 29, 2015.

8. The Member has been working as a teacher at an independent private school without incident from September 2013 until the present.

GUILTY PLEA

9. By this document, the Member admits the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1-8 above (the “Admitted Facts”).

10. The Member hereby acknowledges that the Admitted Facts constitute conduct which is professional misconduct and pleads guilty to the allegations of professional misconduct against him, being more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97 subsections 1(5), 1(7), 1(15), 1(18-unprofessional) and 1(19).

11. 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 Admitted Facts being presented to the Discipline Committee;

(c) he understands that by pleading guilty 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, 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) he understands that any agreement between the parties with respect to the penalty proposed in this document does not bind the Discipline Committee;

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

12. In light of the Admitted Facts and circumstances and the plea of guilt, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Member submit that the Discipline Committee find the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

DECISION

Having considered the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea, the Committee finds that the facts support a finding of professional misconduct. In particular, the Committee finds that the Member committed acts of professional misconduct as alleged, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections1(5), 1(7), 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 8 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and pleaded guilty to the allegations of professional misconduct against him. He acknowledged and the Committee accepts that the Admitted Facts constitute conduct which is professional misconduct, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(7), 1(15), 1(18-unprofessional) and 1(19).

Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member failed to maintain the standards of the profession, abused students verbally, failed to comply with the Education Act, and committed acts that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as unprofessional, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5), 1(7), 1(15) and 1(18 – unprofessional).

Paragraph 5 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member engaged in conduct unbecoming a member contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).

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:

1. direct that the Member appear before the Committee immediately following the hearing of this matter to receive a reprimand which will be delivered in person at the offices of the Ontario College of Teachers, 101 Bloor Street W., Toronto, Ontario, and the fact of the reprimand is to be recorded on the Register of the Ontario College of Teachers (the “Register”);

2. direct the Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers (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 until such time as they are fulfilled:

(a) within 90 days of September 4, 2015, the date of the hearing of this matter, the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at his own expense, a course(s) of instruction pre-approved by the Registrar regarding appropriate boundaries and professional ethics. Such course(s) shall not be required to be longer than five hours in duration;

(b) within 30 days of his completion of the course(s) outlined in (a) above, the Member shall provide to the Registrar a written certificate from the course practitioner stating that:

(i) he or she has reviewed a copy of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea 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(s).

3. direct that there be publication of the finding 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

College Counsel submitted that publication with the name of the Member is warranted in this case. Publication with the name of the Member serves as a specific deterrent to the Member, a general deterrent to the profession to discourage similar behaviour, provides transparency and openness of the discipline process, and is commensurate with the circumstances of the Member’s case.

College Counsel referred the Committee to three cases relating to offensive and inappropriate comments to students: Ontario College of Teachers v. Courtney, 2014 LNONCTD 82, Ontario College of Teachers v. Gal, 2014 LNONCTD 46, and Ontario College of Teachers v. Hockin, 2015 LNONCTD 26. College Counsel submitted that these cases were similar to the Member’s case, and that publication with name was ordered in all three instances.

Submissions of Member’s Counsel

Member’s Counsel submitted that publication with the name of the Member is not warranted in this case. The purposes of penalty, including specific deterrence, general deterrence, and transparency will be met without publishing the name of the Member. The fact of the reprimand will remain on the Register and on the Member’s certificate for a period of 3 years, the Committee’s decision will be available for review by the public on the College website, in the College library and will be linked to the Member’s certificate. Accordingly, Member’s Counsel submitted that there is no value added by publishing the Member’s name in the College’s official publication.

Member’s Counsel asked the Committee to consider the following mitigating factors: this is the first appearance by the Member before the Committee in his 11 ½ years of teaching, he has never previously been disciplined by his Board, he accepts responsibility for his actions and pleaded guilty, and he has voluntarily completed a course and has agreed to complete a further course. In addition, the Member has been teaching since September 2013 without incident and his conduct has been exemplary as outlined in the letter submitted by the Member’s current employer (Exhibit 3).

Member’s Counsel referred the Committee to the following five cases: Ontario College of Teachers v. Shuber, 2015 LNONCTD 6, Ontario College of Teachers v. Mukts, 2013 LNONCTD 98, Ontario College of Teachers v. Daye, 2011 LNONCTD 3, Ontario College of Teachers v. De Marchi, 2011 LNONCTD 5, and Ontario College of Teachers v. Blanchard, 2012 LNONCTD 17. According to Member’s Counsel, the Committee should follow these precedents in which the members’ names were not published in Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession. Member’s Counsel further submitted that the cases submitted by College Counsel were distinguishable on the basis of their facts and should not be relied upon by the Committee.

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.

With respect to the issue of publication, the Committee directs that there be publication of a summary of the finding and order of the Committee in the official publication of the College, Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession, with the name of the Member.

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 misconduct committed by the Member and is reasonable given the circumstances of this case.

The Committee finds that the Member’s use of inappropriate course materials, the use of profanity during instructional periods and co-curricular activities, and posting an inappropriate message on Facebook about a former Minister of Education warrant a reprimand by his peers. The reprimand will allow the College to directly address its concerns with the Member and will serve as a specific deterrent. Recording the fact of the reprimand on the Register will serve as a general deterrent to other members of the profession.

The Committee finds that the courses of instruction regarding appropriate boundaries and professional ethics will assist in the rehabilitation of the Member. The coursework will remind the Member of his obligations as a teacher and will prompt him to use better judgment in his interactions with students and to use social media responsibly.

The Committee finds that publication with the Member’s name in Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession is warranted. Publication with the name of the Member identifies to the profession the serious nature of the Member’s misconduct and the consequences of such behaviour. Publication with name acts as a specific deterrent to the Member as it holds the Member accountable for his actions. It also serves as a general deterrent by reminding the profession that such behaviour is not tolerated. Moreover, publishing the Member’s name ensures the transparency of the discipline process and reassures the public that the College acts decisively and does not shield its members when matters of this nature are brought to its attention.

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

Date: October 1, 2015

Jean-Luc Bernard, OCT

Chair, Discipline Panel

______________________________ Sara Nouini, OCT

Member, Discipline Panel

Alexander (Sandy) Bass, OCT

Member, Discipline Panel