DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
Citation: Ontario College of Teachers v Johnson 2019 ONOCT 23
Date: 2019-04-11
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
Kristen Michelle Johnson, OCT, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.
BETWEEN:
ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS
– and –
KRISTEN MICHELLE JOHNSON (REGISTRATION #439280)
PANEL: Irene Dembek, OCT, Chair Alicia Nunn, OCT Jonathan Rose
HEARD: April 11, 2019
Christine Lonsdale
Christine Lonsdale
Christine Lonsdale and Amanda Iarusso of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, for Ontario College of Teachers
Kirsty Niglas-Collins of KNC Law, for Kristen Michelle Johnson, assisted by Jack Brown of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation
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 April 11, 2019 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.
A Notice of Hearing dated June 2, 2017 (Exhibit 1) was served on Kristen Michelle Johnson1 (the “Member”), requesting her presence on July 12, 2017 to set a date for hearing and specifying the allegations. The hearing was subsequently set for April 11, 2019.
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.
THE ALLEGATIONS
The allegations against the Member in the Notice of Hearing are as follows:
IT IS ALLEGED that Kristen Michelle Tamburrino is guilty of professional misconduct as defined in the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 in that:
(a) she failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5);
(b) she signed or issued, in the member’s professional capacity, a document that she knew or ought to have known contained a false, improper or misleading statement, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(12);
(c) she falsified a record relating to the member’s professional responsibilities, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(13);
(d) she 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) she committed an act or omission 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
(f) she 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:
Kristen Michelle Tamburrino, also known as Kirsten Michelle Johnson 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 respecting the Member, which shows her name change.
At all material times, the Member was employed by the District School Board of Niagara (the “Board”) as a teacher at the Alternative Pathways Centre in St. Catharines, Ontario.
On April 18 and 19, 2016, the Member falsified her attendance records when she reported two consecutive absence days as “Family Care Days”. The Member improperly used those days to participate in the Boston Marathon.
The Member was given a five day suspension with pay by the Board. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “B” is a copy of the disciplinary letter from the Superintendent of Human Resources dated May 11, 2016. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “C” is the letter of expectation dated May 8, 2014 referred to in the May 11, 2016 disciplinary letter.
Prior Discipline
- On June 22, 2016, the Member was found guilty of professional misconduct by a panel of the Discipline Committee. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “D” is a copy of the Decision, Reasons for Decision and Order of the Discipline Committee dated June 22, 2016.
GUILTY PLEA
By this document,2 the Member admits the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 6 [sic] 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 her, being more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97 subsections 1(5), 1(12), 1(13), 1(15), 1(18), and 1(19).
By this document the Member states that:
(a) she understands fully the nature of the allegations against her;
(b) she understands that by signing this document she is consenting to the evidence as set out in the Admitted Facts being presented to the Discipline Committee;
(c) she understands that by pleading guilty to the allegations, she is waiving the right to require the College to otherwise prove the case against her and the right to have a hearing;
(d) she 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 her name, shall be published in the official publication of the College;
(e) she understands that any agreement between the parties with respect to the penalty proposed does not bind the Discipline Committee;
(f) she understands and acknowledges that she is executing this Agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and with the advice of legal counsel.
- In light of the Admitted Facts and circumstances and the guilty plea, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Member submit that the Discipline Committee find the Member guilty of professional misconduct.3
DECISION
Having considered the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and the submissions of the parties, the Committee rendered an oral decision on April 11, 2019 finding that the Member engaged in acts of professional misconduct as alleged, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(12), 1(13), 1(15), 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 admitted the allegations of professional misconduct against her. She 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(12), 1(13), 1(15), 1(18), and 1(19).
Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5).
Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member signed or issued, in the member’s professional capacity, a document that she knew or ought to have known contained a false, improper or misleading statement, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(12).
Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member falsified a record relating to the member’s professional responsibilities, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(13).
Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates 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).
Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member committed an act or omission 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).
Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates 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 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”);
direct the Registrar to suspend the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of the Member for a period of three (3) months commencing on the 15th calendar day following the date of the Oral Decision and Order of the Discipline Committee relating to this matter and the fact of the suspension is to be recorded on the Register;
direct 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 commencing or resuming any Teaching Position for which a Certificate of Qualification and Registration (a “Teaching Position”) is required, and no later than 90 days before commencing or resuming a Teaching Position, the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at her own expense, a course of instruction pre-approved by the Registrar regarding professional ethics, subject to the following conditions:
(i) the Member will provide to the 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) the Member shall also provide to the course practitioner a copy of the Decision, Reasons for Decision and Order of the Discipline Committee dated June 22, 2016, as well as any assignments that were completed by the Member during the professional ethics outlined in the Decision dated June 22, 2016;
(iii) following review of the documents noted at paragraph (i) and (ii) 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;
(b) within 30 days of his [sic] completion of the course outlined in (a) above, the Member shall provide to the Registrar a written report from the 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.
PENALTY DECISION
In an oral decision rendered on April 11, 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 and concurred with by Member’s Counsel: Ontario College of Teachers v. Crouse, 2016 ONOCT 99, Ontario College of Teachers v. Callaghan, 2013 ONOCT 11 and Ontario College of Teachers v. Sacco, 2013 ONOCT 80.
The Committee finds that the Member’s unethical and dishonest conduct warrants a reprimand by her peers. The reprimand will allow the Committee to directly address its concerns with the Member and as such 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 finds that a three‑month suspension is reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances. The duration of the suspension is within the range of acceptable outcomes, based on similar cases before the Discipline Committee. Members of the College are expected to uphold the standards of the profession and to model appropriate behaviour at all times. Members must act with integrity. The Member’s falsification of her attendance records and deception to her employer demonstrate a significant lapse in professional judgment. The Committee is concerned that this is the Member’s second matter before the Discipline Committee and this shows she has a history of misconduct. While the conduct at issue in this case happened before the Member’s hearing and penalty in the prior discipline matter and she therefore did not have the benefit of the remediation inherent in that process, the Member’s pattern of misconduct is nonetheless concerning. The suspension will act as a specific deterrent to the Member and it will hold her accountable for her actions. Recording the fact of the suspension on the Register will serve as a general deterrent by reminding other members of the profession that such behaviour is not tolerated.
The Committee finds that the course of instruction regarding professional ethics will assist in the rehabilitation of the Member. The coursework will remind the Member of her obligations to uphold the ethical standards of the profession and help her recognize that teachers are held to a higher standard in society.
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 11, 2019
Irene Dembek, OCT
Chair, Discipline Panel
Alicia Nunn, OCT
Member, Discipline Panel
Jonathan Rose
Member, Discipline Panel
Footnotes
- The Notice of Hearing referred to the Member as Kristen Michelle Tamburrino, her former name. These reasons will refer to the Member by her present name, Kristen Michelle Johnson.
- For the purposes of paragraphs 6 and 8, this “document” refers to the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea.
- The parties’ Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea (Exhibit 2) does not contain a paragraph “9”.