Shane C. D’Souza

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against the Member for professional misconduct.

The Member admitted to failing to familiarize himself with a student's Individual Education Plan (IEP) and acting discourteously toward a parent and principal.

The Member also admitted to making unwelcome physical contact and inappropriate comments toward a student teacher under his supervision.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Member's guilty plea and the joint submission on penalty.

The Member was found guilty of professional misconduct and ordered to receive a reprimand, serve a three-month suspension, and complete coursework on professional boundaries, anger management, and ethical responsibilities.

The member brought a motion at the outset of a discipline hearing to limit the scope of the allegations to those specifically particularized in the Notice of Hearing.

The College sought to rely on additional, more serious allegations of sexual misconduct that were not enumerated in the Notice of Hearing but were disclosed in the underlying investigation report, arguing that the phrase 'including but not limited to' permitted their inclusion.

The Discipline Committee granted the member's motion, finding that the member was denied procedural fairness because he was not given adequate notice or an opportunity to respond to the unenumerated allegations during the investigation stage.

The Committee held that the lack of notice at the investigation stage could not be cured by providing particulars at the discipline stage, and prohibited the College from relying on any allegations not specified in the Notice of Hearing.

The moving party brought a motion for leave to appeal to the Divisional Court.

The court dismissed the motion for leave to appeal.

On agreement of the parties, costs were fixed at $10,000 payable to the successful respondent.

The Ontario Securities Commission approved a settlement agreement with Coinsquare Ltd. and its executives regarding market manipulation and whistleblower reprisal.

Coinsquare admitted to inflating trading volumes on its crypto asset platform through wash trades and taking reprisals against an internal whistleblower.

The settlement included significant administrative penalties, bans on the executives acting as directors or officers, and requirements for corporate governance improvements.

The Plaintiffs sought partial indemnity costs and disbursements totaling $1,391,715.45 following a successful, but partially limited, certification motion in a class action against several financial institutions.

The Defendants argued for a significant reduction, citing their substantial success in narrowing the class definition and potential double recovery from prior settlements.

The court awarded the Plaintiffs $700,000 in legal fees and HST, payable forthwith, and ordered disbursements of $468,705.06 payable in the cause.

The reduction in fees reflected the Defendants' success in streamlining the class action and reducing their potential liability, which the court deemed important for the integrity of the class actions regime and to discourage overambitious claims, without constituting a distributive costs award.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to certify a class action against several banks for allegedly conspiring to fix prices in the foreign exchange market.

The court found that the plaintiffs satisfied the five criteria for certification under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, but modified the class definition to exclude indirect purchasers (investors) and direct purchasers who transacted with non-defendant banks.

The court certified the action for direct purchasers who transacted with the defendant banks.

The member was found to have engaged in professional misconduct, including the sexual abuse of two students by touching their buttocks and making inappropriate comments.

The member did not attend the penalty hearing.

Pursuant to the mandatory provisions of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, the Discipline Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the member's certificate and an in-person reprimand.

The Committee also ordered the member to pay $25,000 in costs to the College, noting the member's uncooperative conduct in failing to attend hearings and communicate with the College, which unnecessarily lengthened the proceedings.

The plaintiff moved to certify a proposed class action against TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM) alleging that TDAM improperly paid "trailing commissions" to discount brokers for "service and advice" that was not provided, thereby wasting Mutual Fund assets and causing investor losses.

The court granted certification for claims of breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty, disallowance of improper expenses under s. 23.1 of the Trustee Act, and prospectus misrepresentation.

However, claims for knowing assistance, knowing receipt, and unjust enrichment were struck as analytically unworkable or lacking a proper basis in fact.

The court affirmed the plaintiff's standing as a unitholder to sue the trustee and manager, and found the class definition and common issues suitable for certification, reiterating that certification is a low hurdle not concerned with the merits.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded no contest to allegations of professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of a student.

The Discipline Committee accepted the uncontested facts that the Member engaged in an inappropriate personal and sexual relationship with a student.

The Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct and, pursuant to the mandatory provisions of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, ordered the immediate revocation of his teaching certificate and a reprimand.

The member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a student.

The misconduct included inappropriate electronic communications, giving gifts, and spending time alone with the student outside of an educational context.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a two-year suspension of the member's certificate of qualification and registration, and the completion of a course on boundary violations.

The member was found to have engaged in professional misconduct.

On the day scheduled for the penalty phase of the hearing, the member's counsel brought a motion to adjourn because the member had terminated his retainer the day before.

The College did not oppose the motion.

The Discipline Committee granted the adjournment, finding that it would be unfair to proceed without affording the member an opportunity to seek new legal counsel, and scheduled a set date hearing.

The College brought a motion seeking leave to withdraw the allegations against the member set out in a Notice of Hearing.

The member's case had already been dealt with by another committee of the College.

The member consented to the motion.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding that the withdrawal was reasonable and served to protect the public interest.

The member, a teacher and librarian, faced allegations of professional misconduct for removing approximately $115 in book fair proceeds from the school office contrary to school policy and subsequently misleading her principal about it.

The member pleaded no contest to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, noting her actions violated the ethical standards of trust and integrity.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered that the member receive a reprimand and successfully complete an ethics course.

Staff of the Commission and Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. (CIM) jointly submitted a settlement agreement for approval.

CIM admitted to failing to meet its best execution obligations over a four-year period by directing trades to a related firm, resulting in higher commission rates and bond spreads for its clients.

CIM also admitted to making misleading statements, having inadequate policies, and providing insufficient information to its Independent Review Committees.

The Commission approved the settlement, which included an administrative penalty of $1.8 million, costs of $250,000, and terms and conditions on CIM's registration requiring an independent consultant to review its policies.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member for submitting false health care claims to a benefits provider totaling $13,280.

The member pleaded no contest to allegations of professional misconduct, including failing to maintain professional standards and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, or unprofessional conduct.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a nine-month suspension of the member's certificate, and the completion of an ethics course should the member return to teaching.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member for alleged professional misconduct involving Grade [XXX] female students in Nunavut.

The allegations included inappropriate touching of the students' buttocks and making inappropriate comments such as calling them 'beautiful' and 'babe'.

The member denied the allegations, claiming the students fabricated them out of revenge.

The Discipline Committee found the students' evidence credible and rejected the member's theory.

The Committee concluded that the member engaged in professional misconduct, including sexual, physical, verbal, and psychological abuse, and ordered an interim suspension pending a penalty hearing.

The Member, a teacher, pled guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a student.

The Member and the student exchanged thousands of text messages, spent time alone together, and the Member told the student she loved him.

The Member abruptly ended the relationship when her husband discovered the texts, causing the student significant emotional distress.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty and ordered the immediate revocation of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member who, after being declared surplus, vandalized his classroom and stole school property before relocating to England.

The member subsequently engaged in a year-long campaign of sending inappropriate, threatening, and impersonating emails to his former colleagues.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, noting his actions were intentional, targeted, and created a culture of fear among staff.

Given the severity of the misconduct and the lack of remorse, the Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration.

Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission commenced an enforcement proceeding against Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. (CIM) alleging failure to provide best execution of trades.

CIM brought a motion seeking disclosure of communications between Staff and potential experts, as well as information regarding the best execution practices of other OSC registrants.

The Commission denied the motion, finding that communications with potential experts were protected by litigation privilege and that the practices of other registrants were irrelevant and confidential.

The Commission ordered disclosure of only one factual notation from the expert materials.

This endorsement addresses costs arising from an unsuccessful and untimely motion brought by Sarah Werner to vary an order appointing a litigation guardian for her mother, Ida Rubin.

The court found Ms. Werner's proposed motion to be an obstructionist tactic, lacking merit, and brought in breach of a scheduling order.

Due to Ms. Werner's reprehensible litigation conduct, the court awarded full indemnity costs against her to the applicant and litigation guardian.

Additionally, costs were awarded to other parties (Morris Rubin and The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company) from the estate, with these amounts to be allocated solely to Ms. Werner's share.