DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
DECISION, REASONS FOR 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
Ryan Edward Jarvis, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
BETWEEN:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
– and –
RYAN EDWARD JARVIS (REGISTRATION #506091)
PANEL: Alicia Nunn, OCT, Chair Shanlee Linton, OCT Jonathan Rose
HEARD: April 8, 2019
Caroline Zayid of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, for Ontario College of Teachers, assisted by Annie Lacroix, Law Clerk
No one appearing for Ryan Edward Jarvis
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 April 8, 2019 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
A Notice of Hearing dated May 4, 2016 (Exhibit 1) was served on Ryan Edward Jarvis (the “Member”), requesting his presence on May 24, 2016 to set a date for hearing and specifying the allegations. The hearing was subsequently set for April 8, 2019.
The Member was not in attendance for the hearing and did not have 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.
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)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 abused a student or students psychologically or emotionally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.2);
(c) he abused a student or students sexually, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.3) and/or engaged in sexual abuse of a student or students as defined in section 1 of the Act;
(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 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);
(f) 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);
(g) 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
(h) he engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).
AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS
College Counsel presented the Committee with the parties’ Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea (Exhibit 2), which provides the following:
Ryan Edward Jarvis is 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 with respect to the Member.
At all material times, the Member was employed by the Thames Valley District School Board as a teacher at [XXX] School (the “School”).
During the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years, the Member surreptitiously recorded female students at the School by means of a video-recording pen, without their consent.
The recordings were made at the School during the Member’s daily interactions with the students in the classroom, in hallways, and other locations on School property.
The Member’s recordings included videos which focused on students’ breasts and cleavage. The video recordings were made for a sexual purpose.
On February 14, 2019 the Supreme Court of Canada held that the Member had made the video recordings of the students in circumstances that gave rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy. Accordingly the Supreme Court concluded that the Member was guilty of the offence of voyeurism contrary to Section 162(1)(c) of the Criminal Code of Canada. The Supreme Court entered a conviction. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “B” is a copy of the February 14, 2019 Judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court of Canada has issued a Notice of Deposit of Judgment dated February 21, 2019 a copy of which is attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “C”.
Sentencing proceedings are underway before the Superior Court of Justice.
GUILTY PLEA
By this document,2 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 admits the allegations of professional misconduct against him, being more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97 subsections 1(5), 1(7.2), 1(7.3), 1(15), 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 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 the parties with respect to the penalty proposed in this document does not bind the Discipline Committee;
(f) he understands and acknowledges that he is executing this Agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and with the opportunity to obtain advice from legal counsel.
- In light of the Admitted Facts and circumstances and the guilty plea, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Member jointly 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 College Counsel, the Committee rendered an oral decision on April 8, 2019 finding that the Member engaged in acts of professional misconduct as alleged, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(7.2), 1(7.3), 1(15), 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 8 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and admitted 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(7.2), 1(7.3), 1(15), 1(16), 1(17), 1(18) and 1(19).
Paragraphs 3 to 7 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). The surreptitious recording of female students for a sexual purpose was a clear breach of the standards of the profession.
Paragraphs 3 to 7 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member abused a student or students psychologically or emotionally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.2). The Member’s conduct was a violation of trust and an intrusion on privacy that, as stated by the Supreme Court of Canada, poses a “particularly pernicious threat to individual dignity and autonomy” (R. v. Jarvis, 2019 SCC 10 (“Jarvis”) at para. 67). Persons who have been sexually objectified “may be harmed for years,” by knowing that a video, as a permanent form, “may at any moment be being watched by someone” (R. v. Sharpe, 2001 SCC 2, quoted in Jarvis at para. 62).
Paragraphs 3 to 7 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member abused a student or students sexually, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.3). The Member’s video recordings included videos that focused on students’ breasts and cleavage, and the recordings were made for a sexual purpose.
Paragraphs 3 to 7 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 the Act, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(15). The duties of a teacher set out in the Education Act include the encouragement of students in the pursuit of learning and the requirement to serve as a role model for students by demonstrating the highest regard for a number of virtues listed at subsection 264(1)(c). The Member’s surreptitious recordings of students for a sexual purpose are a clear breach of his duties as a teacher.
Paragraphs 6 to 7 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). The Member was convicted of the sexual offence of voyeurism, contrary to section 162(1)(c) of the Criminal Code of Canada.
Paragraphs 6 to 7 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrate that the Member contravened a law, the contravention of which may cause a student who is under the member’s professional supervision to be put at or to remain at risk, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(17). By committing the criminal offence of voyeurism, the Member exploited and intruded upon the “bodily and sexual integrity” of female students at the School (Jarvis, at para. 85), thus putting them at risk.
Paragraphs 3 to 7 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). The Member’s surreptitious recording of students for a sexual purpose is clearly disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional.
Paragraphs 3 to 7 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). The Member’s conduct greatly undermined the trust and confidence placed in members of the teaching profession by students and the public, and it tarnished the reputation of the profession.
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 receive a written reprimand, and the fact of the reprimand is to be recorded on the Register of the Ontario College of Teachers (the “Register”);
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.
PENALTY DECISION
In an oral decision rendered on April 8, 2019 the Committee accepted the Joint Submission on Penalty presented by the parties and made 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 cases presented by College Counsel: Ontario College of Teachers v. Jack, 2013 ONOCT 52, Ontario College of Teachers v. Sanli, 2014 ONOCT 95 and Ontario College of Teachers v. Hachborn, 2018 ONOCT 52.
The Committee finds that the Member’s egregious conduct, warrants a reprimand by his peers. Teachers are expected to protect students from harm and to create safe and supportive environments for learning. The Member, over a period of two years, targeted, observed, and objectified students by video recording intimate parts of their bodies for a sexual purpose. The Member’s conduct violated students’ sexual integrity and betrayed the trust and authority invested in him as a teacher. As stated by the Supreme Court of Canada: “privacy with respect to intimate parts of our bodies and information about our sexual selves is particularly sacrosanct” (Jarvis, para 82). It is completely intolerable for Members of the teaching profession to sexually abuse students and the Committee denounces the Member’s misconduct in the strongest terms. 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.
Given the circumstances of the Member’s case, the Committee finds that revocation is also an appropriate penalty. The Member abused his position of trust and authority as a teacher in an egregious manner. He took advantage of the fact that he had access to young female students and he recorded videos of their breasts and cleavage for a sexual purpose. The Member’s criminal conduct was sexually abusive and completely unacceptable. By engaging in this behaviour, the Member has undermined the reputation of the teaching profession. As a result, the Member has forfeited the privilege of being a member of the teaching profession in Ontario. The revocation of his certificate of qualification and registration will ensure the protection of students and will inform members of the public and the profession that the sexual abuse of students is not tolerated and will be met with serious consequences.
The Committee is satisfied that the penalty is appropriate in the circumstances and meets the principle of serving and protecting the public interest.
Date: April 16, 2019
______________________________
Alicia Nunn, OCT
Chair, Discipline Panel
____________________________
Shanlee Linton, OCT
Member, Discipline Panel
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Jonathan Rose
Member, Discipline Panel