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
James Robert Mervyn Coulter, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
PANEL: Jane Ishibashi, Chair
Irene Dembek, OCT
BETWEEN: ) Ava Arbuck,
) McCarthy Tétrault LLP, ) for Ontario College of Teachers,
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS ) assisted by Daniela Spano,
) Law Clerk
– and – )
James Robert Mervyn Coulter ) James Robert Mervyn Coulter
(CERTIFICATE # 205068) ) was self-represented
) Rebecca Durcan,
) Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, ) Independent Legal Counsel
) ) Heard: January 17, 2017
DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDER
This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on January 17, 2017 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
A Notice of Hearing dated February 10, 2015 (Exhibit 1) was served on James Robert Mervyn Coulter (the “Member”), requesting his presence on March 23, 2015 to set a date for hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for January 17, 2017.
The Member was not in attendance for the hearing and was self-represented.
Shortly after the commencement of this hearing, after the Notice of Hearing had been recorded as Exhibit 1, Mr. Ravi Vethamany, OCT, recused himself from the Committee in this matter. This was done out of an abundance of caution, as the Member was contacted by phone before the hearing and expressed concern that Mr. Vethamany’s presence on the panel might raise an issue of a conflict of interest. Pursuant to section 4.4(1) of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.22, the remaining two Committee members completed the hearing and gave a decision without Mr. Vethamany’s participation.
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 as defined in subsections 30(2) and 40(1.1) 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 contravened a law, the contravention of which is relevant to the member’s suitability to hold a certificate of qualification and registration, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(16);
(c) he contravened a law, the contravention of which may cause a student to be put at or to remain at risk, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(17);
(d) 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
(e) he engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).
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 the following:
At all material times, the Member, James Robert Mervyn Coulter was a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “A” is a copy of the Ontario College of Teachers Registered Member Information respecting the Member.
At all material times, the Member was employed by the Toronto District School Board (the “Board”) as a teacher at [XXX] School (the “School”).
On or about November 17, 2011, the Member was arrested at his home. He was charged the following day with five counts relating to accessing, attempting to access, and possessing child pornography. Items seized by police included written stories containing child pornography, and movies on the Member’s laptop that included child pornography, some of which had been downloaded from the internet. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “B” is a copy of the Agreed Statement of Facts filed in the Ontario Court of Justice, dated February 14, 2014.
On or about April 10, 2014, in the Ontario Court of Justice, the Member was found guilty and convicted of one count of Accessing Child Pornography, contrary to section 163.1(4.1) of the Criminal Code, and two counts of Possession of Child Pornography, contrary to section 163.1(4) of the Criminal Code. The Member was sentenced to six months’ incarceration, followed by three years of probation, concurrent on each count. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “C” is a copy of the Court Information and Probation Order. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “D” is a copy of the Reasons for Judgment, and at Exhibit “E” is a copy of the Reasons for Sentence.
The Member appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. On September 28, 2016, the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the Member’s appeal. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “F” is a copy of the Judgment of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, dated September 28, 2016.
GUILTY PLEA
By this document, the Member admits the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in the paragraphs above (the “Admitted Facts”).
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(16), 1(17), 1(18) and 1(19).
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 otherwise prove the case against him and the right to have a hearing;
(d) he understands that a summary of the Discipline Committee’s decision and reasons, including his name, shall be published in the official publication of the College;
(e) he understands that any agreement between him and counsel for the College with respect to the penalty proposed does not bind the Discipline Committee;
(f) he understands and acknowledges that he is executing the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea voluntarily, unequivocally, and without the advice of legal counsel.
- 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 and the submissions of the parties, 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(16), 1(17), 1(18) and 1(19).
REASONS FOR DECISION
The Member admitted the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 5 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(16), 1(17), 1(18) and 1(19).
Paragraphs 3 to 5 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5).
Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member contravened a law, the contravention of which is relevant to the member’s suitability to hold a certificate of qualification and registration, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(16).
Paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member contravened a law, the contravention of which may cause a student to be put at or to remain at risk, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(17).
Paragraphs 3 to 5 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member 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).
Paragraphs 3 to 5 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate 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), the parties jointly submitted that the appropriate penalty to be imposed by the Committee in this matter would be that the Committee:
- direct the Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers to immediately revoke the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member, which Certificate the Member is to immediately surrender to the Registrar.
The Member also submitted a statement expressing his remorse, which was read out by College Counsel.
PENALTY DECISION
The Committee accepts the Joint Submission on Penalty presented by the parties and makes an order in accordance with its term 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 misconduct committed by the Member and is reasonable given the circumstances of this case. The penalty proposed by the parties is also within a reasonable range, based on the following analogous cases presented by College Counsel: Ontario College of Teachers v. Owen, 2014 ONOCT 80 and Ontario College of Teachers v. Teeple, 2014 ONOCT 102.
The Committee finds that the Member’s very serious criminal conduct requires the revocation of his certificate. The Member’s possession of a large quantity of child pornography necessitates the imposition of a penalty which denounces the morally reprehensible nature of the crime, deters others from similar conduct, and reflects the gravity of the offence. The Member’s conduct is a serious breach of public trust, and he must not be permitted to teach in Ontario.
The Committee recognizes that it no longer has discretion with respect to publication, as publication with name is now mandatory in accordance with subsection 45.1 of the Act. Accordingly, a summary of the Committee’s decision and reasons will be published with the Member’s name on the College’s website and in the official publication of the College, Professionally Speaking/Pour parler profession.
The Committee is satisfied that the penalty is appropriate in the circumstances and serves and protects the public interest.
Date: January 31, 2017
Jane Ishibashi
Chair, Discipline Panel
______________________________ Irene Dembek, OCT
Member, Discipline Panel