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
Ryan Paul Gabourie, OCT, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
PANEL: Vicki Shannon, OCT, Chair
Tom Potter
Ravi Vethamany, OCT
BETWEEN: )
) Zirka Jakibchuk,
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS ) for Ontario College of Teachers
– and – )
RYAN PAUL GABOURIE ) Kirsty Niglas-Collins,
(CERTIFICATE #446165) ) KNC Law,
) for Ryan Paul Gabourie
) Rebecca Durcan,
) Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc,
) Independent Legal Counsel
) ) Heard: October 25, 2017
DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDER
This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on October 25, 2017 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
A Notice of Hearing dated March 15, 2016 (Exhibit 1) was served on Ryan Paul Gabourie (the “Member”), requesting his presence on April 22, 2016 to set a date for hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for October 25, 2017.
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 as defined in subsection 30(2) 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 released or disclosed information about a student to a person other than the student or, if the student is a minor, the student’s parent or guardian, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(6);1
(c) he abused a student, or students, psychologically or emotionally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.2);2
(d) 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);
(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);3 and
(f) he engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).4
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:
Ryan Paul Gabourie is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Attached as Appendix “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 Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (the “Board”) as a teacher at [XXX] School (the “School”). During the 2014-2015 academic year, the Member was assigned to the [XXX]for students with [XXX].
At all material times, Student 1 was a male student and Student 2 was a female student in the Member’s class.
In November 2014, the Member became aware of a rumour that Student 1 was suspended from School and may be under investigation following an allegation by Student 2 that Student 1 had sexually assaulted her.
The Member believed Student 2 may have fabricated the allegation.
On or about November 14, 2014, the Member met with Student 2 to discuss the situation, without the knowledge of the School administration. During this meeting, the Member tricked Student 2 into believing he had video and physical evidence of what had happened.
The Member had Student 2 try to write an apology to Student 1. When this proved difficult, he videotaped an apology from Student 2 to Student 1, without Student 2’s parent’s consent, using a colleague’s cell phone. The Member then provided this video and a written summary of his investigation to the School’s vice-principal.
In taking the actions described in paragraphs 5–7 above, the Member interfered with the School and Police investigations. If the Member were to testify, he would say that he had heard from colleagues at the School that there was an ongoing Police investigation relating to the allegation, but was not aware of all the details.
The Board conducted an investigation into the Member’s conduct. As a result of its investigation, the Board suspended the Member for 10 days without pay (from June 15-26, 2015), reassigned the Member to another secondary school, and placed a restriction on the Member’s ability to instruct students in specialized programs (the Member was no longer permitted to teach in [XXX]). Attached as Appendix “B” is a copy of the Board’s disciplinary letter to the Member dated June 11, 2015.
The suspension was grieved and reduced to two days without pay (from June 15‑16, 2015) and three days with pay (from June 17–19, 2015), and the teaching restriction on the Member has since expired. The disciplinary letter is also no longer in the Member’s file at the Board.
The Member states that he did not have the intention to cause harm to any of his students and sincerely regrets his actions.
GUILTY PLEA
By this document,5 the Member admits the truth of the facts and appendices referred to in paragraphs 1-11 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(15) and 1(18) [unprofessional].
By signing this document the Member states that:
(a) he understands fully the nature of the allegations against him;
(b) he understands that he is consenting to the evidence as set out in the Admitted Facts being presented to the Discipline Committee;
(c) he understands that he is pleading guilty to the allegations, and 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 the Discipline Committee’s decision and reasons shall be published on the College’s website, and 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 the College with respect to the penalty does not bind the Discipline Committee; and
(f) he understands and acknowledges that he is executing this Agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and with the advice of legal counsel.
- In light of the Admitted Facts and circumstances and the plea of guilt, the College and the Member submit that the Discipline Committee find the Member guilty of professional misconduct.
DECISION
Counsel for the College requested that the allegations of professional misconduct outlined in paragraphs (b), (c), (e) [disgraceful and dishonourable only] and (f) of the Notice of Hearing, namely that the Member contravened subsections 1(6), 1(7.2), 1(18) [disgraceful and dishonourable only] and 1(19) of Ontario Regulation 437/97, be withdrawn. The Committee granted this request.
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(15) and 1(18) [unprofessional].
REASONS FOR DECISION
The Member admitted the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 11 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(15) and 1(18) [unprofessional].
Paragraphs 6-9 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 6-9 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member 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).
Paragraphs 6-9 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 unprofessional, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(18).
JOINT SUBMISSION ON PENALTY
Through a Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 3), the parties jointly submitted that the appropriate penalty to be imposed in this matter would be that the Committee:
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”); and
direct the Registrar to impose the following terms, conditions or limitations on the Member’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and 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 the date of the Decision, Reasons for Decision and Order of the Discipline Committee, the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at his own expense, a course of instruction pre-approved by the Registrar, regarding ethical practice, 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 and Joint Submission on Penalty documents made Exhibits 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 practitioner 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 practitioner shall also specify the length of the course to be undertaken by the Member, and the assignments to be completed by the Member; and
(b) within 30 days of his completion of the course outlined in (a) above, the Member shall provide to the Registrar a written certificate 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.
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 the discipline process into disrepute or be otherwise contrary to the public interest. 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 case presented by College Counsel: Ontario College of Teachers v. Sullivan, 2017 ONOCT 41.
The Committee finds that the Member’s inappropriate conduct warrants a reprimand by his peers. The Member involved himself in a serious matter regarding two students at the School that he ought to have known should be handled by the appropriate authorities, and thus interfered with both the School and the police investigations into that matter. The Member inappropriately met with Student 2 without the knowledge or authorization of the School administration and he videotaped an apology from that student without the consent of her parents. The Committee finds that the Member displayed poor professional judgment. The reprimand will allow the Committee 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 accepts that the Member recognizes that he made an error in judgment and that he regrets his actions, and it finds that the course of instruction regarding ethical practice will assist in the rehabilitation of the Member. The coursework will remind the Member of his obligations as a teacher and will help him to make better decisions in any future interactions with students.
Publication of this decision with the Member’s name is now mandatory in accordance with subsection 45.1 of the Act. Accordingly, the Committee’s decision and reasons will be published with the Member’s name on the College’s website and a summary will be published with the Member’s name 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 meets the principle of serving and protecting the public interest.
Date: November 13, 2017
Vicki Shannon, OCT
Chair, Discipline Panel
______________________________ Tom Potter
Member, Discipline Panel
Ravi Vethamany, OCT
Member, Discipline Panel