Governing Ourselves informs members of legal and regulatory matters affecting the profession. This section provides updates on licensing and qualification requirements, notification of Council resolutions and reports from various Council committees, including reports on accreditation and discipline matters.
Council meetings
Summary – March 25–26, 2010
At its March 25–26 meeting, College Council:
- appointed Rebecca Coulter, OCT, to fill the vacant Faculties of Education position
- approved recommendations in First Nations, Métis and Inuit Conversations – Aboriginal Teaching and Teacher Education to:
- ensure the Education in Ontario diversity component for future initial teacher education programs is developed with input from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and reflects the histories and cultures of each group
- revise AQ course guideline names including the term Native or Aboriginal to include distinct and appropriate recognition of First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories, cultures and traditions
- explore the development of AQ course guidelines that reflect an in-depth learning of First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories and cultures, as well as new AQ courses in Métis, Inuit and additional First Nations languages
- create a representative advisory group to continue to discuss and validate the College’s Aboriginal-related strategies and initiatives with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities
- investigate the development of new First Nations, Métis and Inuit educative resources, for example, digital stories or the adaptation of current educative resources for Aboriginal audiences such as incorporating specific visuals, symbols or language references; any new resources will be based on the ethical standards and standards of practice that support and enhance initial and continuing teacher education programs and courses
- review the accreditation practices and processes to include Aboriginal perspectives and approaches and consider with College stakeholders mechanisms for supporting Aboriginal teacher education
- work with First Nations, Métis and Inuit groups to develop career path material specific to these communities and to create articles and information for publication in Professionally Speaking and elsewhere about the teaching profession, how to become a teacher, and services provided by the College; the College will work with First Nations, Métis and Inuit community centres or networks to disseminate the information
- asked the Election Committee to investigate the possibility of amending legislation to provide for a First Nations, Métis and Inuit representative on Council
- approved proposed amendments to the Teachers’ Qualifications Regulation and the Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs Regulation
- approved language changes in French to the regulation governing the election of Council members
- approved setting the reserve for working capital at $2,849,000
- approved setting the reserve for fee stabilization at $963,000
- approved setting the reserve for stabilization of facility costs at $9,721,000
- approved setting the unappropriated members’ equity at $444,000
- added a subsection to the College bylaws to enable the Editorial Board to continue to oversee copy and advertising content for the September issue of Professionally Speaking in a Council election year, even though its term of office ends on June 30
- asked the Investigation Committee to consider amending its practice through a guideline, policy, or legislative amendment to enable it to consider previous decisions involving a member by the Investigation, Discipline or Fitness to Practise committees, unless there was no decision to investigate or the complaint did not relate to professional misconduct or incapacity on the part of the member
- recommended that the Discipline and Fitness to Practise committees consider amending College legislation to ensure that an appeal of a Discipline or Fitness to Practise committee order not act as an immediate and automatic stay of the order
- recommended that the Discipline and Fitness to Practise committees consider amending College legislation to hold reinstatement or variation hearings in public, unless there are compelling reasons not to, and that Fitness to Practise hearings be held in camera, unless the member asks that they be public
- recommended that the Registrar study and report back to the June Council meeting on a recommendation to amend College legislation to enable the College to disclose confidential information to police officers or law enforcement officials to aid in investigations from which a law enforcement proceeding is likely to result or to a body that governs a profession inside or outside Ontario.
