DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
ORAL DECISION ON FINDING
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
Patrick Barry Uhlman, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
BETWEEN:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
– and –
PATRICK BARRY UHLMAN (REGISTRATION #466380)
PANEL: Vicki Shannon, OCT, Chair Colleen Landers Claudia Patenaude-Daniels, OCT
HEARD: July 27, 2018
Christine Wadsworth of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, for Ontario College of Teachers, assisted by Eleanor Enniss, Law Clerk
Adam Webb of Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP, for Patrick Barry Uhlman
Erica Richler 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 July 27, 2018 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
Patrick Barry Uhlman (the “Member”) was not in attendance for the hearing but had legal representation. The Committee was advised at the outset of the hearing that the parties had entered into an agreement with respect to the hearing.
DECISION
Having considered the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and the submissions of the parties, 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(15), 1(18) and 1(19).
PENALTY
On July 27, 2018, the parties presented the Committee with a Joint Submission on Penalty, in which they jointly submitted that the appropriate penalty to be imposed in this matter would be that the Committee:
direct the Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers to suspend the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member for a period of 10 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;
direct the Member to 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”).
Because the Member was not in attendance during the hearing, the parties agreed that the Committee should order that the Member appear before the Committee within 60 days of the date of the Order to receive his reprimand, instead of ordering him to appear “immediately following the hearing of this matter”, as is set out at paragraph 2 above.
The Committee, however, had concerns with respect to the lack of any rehabilitative component in the penalty sought. In light of the fact that the Joint Submission on Penalty proposes to suspend the Member’s certificate of qualification and registration and not to revoke it, the possibility remains that the Member could return to teaching. As such, in consideration of the protection of the public interest, the Committee questioned the absence of a penalty component that directly addresses the rehabilitation of the Member, specifically with respect to his understanding of the Standards of Practice of the Teaching Profession. The Committee therefore invited the parties to make further submissions regarding the rehabilitative component of the penalty sought.
The hearing was adjourned on July 27, 2018 to give the parties the opportunity to address this issue, and to return before the Committee at a later date to make additional submissions with respect to penalty. The Committee neither accepted nor rejected the Joint Submission on Penalty as it was presented to them.
A decision with respect to penalty will be made after the Committee receives the parties’ additional submissions regarding the rehabilitative component of the order sought. A written decision with reasons will follow, after the Committee has made its decision with respect to penalty.
Date: July 27, 2018
Vicki Shannon, OCT Chair, Discipline Panel
Colleen Landers Member, Discipline Panel
Claudia Patenaude-Daniels, OCT Member, Discipline Panel