Discipline Committee of the Ontario College of Teachers
ORAL DECISION AND ORDER
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
Thomas Bertram MacAdam, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
BETWEEN:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
– and –
THOMAS BERTRAM MACADAM (REGISTRATION # 215608)
PANEL: Vicki Shannon, OCT, Chair Jean-Luc Bernard, OCT Shanlee Linton, OCT
HEARD: May 17, 2018 and July 24, 2018
Ava Arbuck of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, for Ontario College of Teachers, assisted by Annie Lacroix, Law Clerk
Thomas Bertram MacAdam, self-represented
Julie Maciura of Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, Independent Legal Counsel
PUBLICATION BAN: Pursuant to subsection 32.1(3) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, no person shall publish the identity of, or any information that could disclose the identity of, any person who is under 18 years old and is a witness in a hearing or is the subject of evidence in a hearing.
This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on May 17, 2018 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto. The hearing continued on July 24, 2018.
Thomas Bertram MacAdam (the “Member”) was not in attendance for the hearing and did not have legal representation.
DECISION
Having considered the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College Counsel, the Committee finds the Member guilty 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(7), 1(7.1), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19).
PENALTY DECISION
The Committee makes the following order as to penalty:
The Committee directs that the Member appear before the Discipline Committee, within 120 days of the date of the Discipline Committee’s Order, to receive a reprimand and the fact of the reprimand is to be recorded on the Register of the Ontario College of Teachers (the “Register”);
The Committee directs the Registrar to suspend the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member for a period of six 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 Committee directs 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) prior to resuming or commencing a Teaching Position, the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at his own expense, courses of instruction pre-approved by the Registrar regarding classroom management and anger management, with a focus on student sensitivity training, subject to the following conditions;
(i) the Member will provide to each course practitioner pre-approved by the Registrar, a copy of the Decision, Reasons for Decision and Order of the Discipline Committee;
(ii) following review of the document noted at paragraph (i) above, each 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 each course practitioner shall also specify the length of the courses to be undertaken by the Member, and the assignments to be completed by the Member.
(b) within 30 days of his completion of the courses outlined in (a) above, the Member shall provide to the Registrar a written report from each course practitioner which:
(i) confirms that the Member has successfully completed the course and reports on the progress of the Member with respect to addressing the outlined goals of the course.
A written decision with reasons will follow.
Date: July 24, 2018
Vicki Shannon, OCT Chair, Discipline Panel
Jean-Luc Bernard, OCT Member, Discipline Panel
Shanlee Linton, OCT Member, Discipline Panel