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
Dorothe Joan Fair, OCT, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
PANEL: Vicki Shannon, OCT, Chair Irene Cheung, OCT Jane Ishibashi
BETWEEN:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS Ava Arbuck, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, for Ontario College of Teachers, assisted by Daniela De Bartolo, Law Clerk
– and –
DOROTHE JOAN FAIR (CERTIFICATE #142222) Dorothe Joan Fair, Self-represented
Rebecca Durcan, Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, Independent Legal Counsel
Heard: February 22, 2016
ORAL DECISION AND ORDER
This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on February 22, 2016 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
A Notice of Hearing dated April 22, 2013 (Exhibit 1) was served on Dorothe Joan Fair (the “Member”), requesting her presence on May 16, 2013 to set a date for hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for February 22, 2016.
The Member was not in attendance for the hearing and did not have legal representation.
DECISION
Having considered the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea, the witness testimony and the submissions of College Counsel, 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, subsections 1(5), 1(18) and 1(19).
PENALTY DECISION
The Committee makes the following order as to penalty:
Within 90 days of the date of the order of the Discipline Committee relating to this matter, the Member is directed to appear before the Committee on a date to be arranged by the Member through the Hearings Office, 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”);
The Registrar is directed to suspend the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member for a period of three months, commencing on the date of the order of the Discipline Committee relating to this matter, and the fact of the suspension is to be recorded on the Register;
The Registrar is directed 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) prior to any return to teaching or any position for which a Certificate of Qualification and Registration is required, the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at her own expense, a course of instruction pre-approved by the Registrar regarding professional interactions and boundary violation issues with colleagues, subject to the following conditions:
(i) the Member will provide to a course practitioner approved by the Registrar, a copy of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea made an exhibit at the hearing of this matter, and the Decision, Reasons for Decision and Order of the Discipline Committee;
(ii) upon review of the documents noted at paragraph (i) above, the course provider will provide to the Registrar, for approval, a syllabus for the proposed course which specifically addresses the Discipline Committee’s concerns regarding the Member’s professional misconduct. The syllabus proposed by the course provider shall also specify the length of the course to be undertaken by the Member, and the assignments to be completed by the Member;
(b) within 30 days of her completion of the course outlined in (a) above, the Member shall provide to the Registrar a written report from the course practitioner:
(i) stating that the Member has successfully completed the course and reporting on the progress of the Member with respect to addressing the outlined goals of the course.
- There shall be publication of the finding and order of the Committee in summary form, with the name of the Member, in the official publication of the College, Professionally Speaking/pour parler profession.
Date: February 22, 2016
Vicki Shannon, OCT Chair, Discipline Panel
Irene Cheung, OCT Member, Discipline Panel
Jane Ishibashi Member, Discipline Panel