Governing Ourselves

Three-member panels of the Discipline Committee conduct public hearings into cases of alleged incompetence or professional misconduct. The panels are a mix of elected and appointed Council members.

If found guilty of professional misconduct or incompetence, a member’s certificates may be revoked, suspended or limited. In cases of professional misconduct only, the committee may also reprimand, admonish or counsel the member, impose a fine, publish its order in Professionally Speaking, or order the member to pay costs.

Panels of the Discipline Committee have ordered summaries of these recent disciplinary cases to be published in Professionally Speaking. Copies of full decisions are available through library@oct.ca. Hearings regarding incapacity are closed.

Hearings

Member: Quintino Bordonali, OCT
Registration number: 246731
Decision: Reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded Toronto DSB teacher Quintino Bordonali for using inappropriate language with students, embarrassing one, and keeping alcohol in his classroom.

Certified in June 1977, Bordonali attended the July 14, 2010 public hearing with legal counsel.

According to the uncontested facts, Bordonali wrote comments such as “You’re lousy,” “You suck,” and “You’re a reject” on French as a Second Language assignments submitted by elementary students. With students present, he used profanities such as “shit” and “bullshit” and on occasion told them to “shut up.” He also left an open bottle of alcohol in his classroom closet.

As well, Bordonali, intending to encourage confidence in a female drama student, deliberately and dramatically laughed at her during her performance. He then repeated the exercise despite the student’s embarrassment.

In 2007 the board suspended Bordonali for five days.

The Discipline Committee panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct after considering a statement of uncontested facts, a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty and the submissions of counsel.

The panel ordered the member to appear before it for a reprimand and directed him to complete a course within three months at his own expense on workplace/professional boundaries, emphasizing how to recognize and protect student sensitivities.

The reprimand is recorded on the public register and the full decision is available from the College library.


Member: Not identified
Decision: Reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded a member for using sign language to make inappropriate sexual remarks and insult a colleague.

The Toronto DSB teacher, who was certified in June 2000, attended the July 15, 2010 public hearing with legal counsel.

According to the uncontested facts, the member told a colleague, “I know you masturbate every day,” by using sign language to mimic the act of female masturbation. Among other comments, he also referred to her as a “slut,” which he finger spelled.

In February 2006 a board superintendent sent the member a letter of reprimand. He was also suspended for five days for sexually harassing a female support staff member.

The Discipline Committee panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct after considering a statement of uncontested facts, a plea of no contest, a joint submission on penalty and the submissions of counsel.

The panel ordered the member to appear before it for a reprimand and directed him to complete a course in workplace/professional boundaries within three months at his own expense.

“The member made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature by signing to a colleague on several occasions, and at times in the presence of other co-workers,” the panel wrote. “The explicit comments by the member demonstrate unprofessional behaviour and that his conduct was unbecoming a member.”

The reprimand serves as a specific deterrent to the member and “underlines the gravity of his misconduct.” The course of instruction is rehabilitative and addresses the issues that gave rise to the misconduct and the appropriate language, references and forms of address co-workers use in workplaces.

The coursework and the fact that no further incidents had been reported in the last four years made the chance of repetition unlikely, the panel said.

The full decision appears on the College’s public register.


Member: Not identified
Decision: Conditions

A Discipline Committee panel ordered a member to complete a course on language sensitivity issues after it found him to have committed an act of professional misconduct in making derogatory comments to describe his ex-wife’s weight to his students.

The member faced 61 allegations of professional misconduct involving comments made in class or before colleagues, but the panel found only one occurrence of professional misconduct.

The member attended hearings along with his lawyers on 28 dates over three years, from October 26, 2005 to September 5, 2008. It was the College’s longest-running disciplinary hearing. The College called 27 witnesses and the member called nine.

An additional hearing, held on August 30, 2010 to establish penalty, was attended by the member and the member’s legal counsel. The panel determined that some alleged incidents occurred but that only one constituted professional misconduct. The panel characterized most of the alleged misconduct as “the sort of conflict that can occur from time to time in a school setting. For the most part, school administration is far better placed to manage these issues without the intervention of the Discipline Committee of the Ontario College of Teachers. This is especially true of the interaction between adult colleagues.”

“The member did personalize the curriculum when he made comments to students and staff about his former wife’s weight,” the panel wrote. “These comments were insulting and demeaning to his former spouse. The comments were varied and occurred over time, thus denying the member consideration, which a single unfortunate comment may have warranted. The committee finds that the member’s actions constitute professional misconduct as conduct that would reasonably be regarded by members as unprofessional.”

The panel ordered the member to complete a course of instruction regarding language sensitivity issues at his own expense prior to returning to the classroom.

A panel member wrote a minority decision that said the member should be found guilty of professional misconduct on 13 of the 61 allegations.

Glossary of terms

The vocabulary used to report disciplinary hearings reflects their quasi-judicial nature. For a glossary of terms, visit www.oct.ca.