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Governing Ourselves

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.

Investigation Committee Case Study

Smoke Signals

The College’s Investigation Committee considers all complaints made to the College about its members and reviews all information resulting from investigations. The committee can dismiss a complaint or refer the matter, in whole or in part, to the Discipline or Fitness to Practise committees for a hearing.

The Investigation Committee may also caution or admonish the member in writing or in person, or provide written reminders or advice or ratify a Memorandum of Agreement reached through the complaint resolution process.

By law, cases under investigation are confidential. For the education of members, the following account, based on facts from real cases, raises important questions about teacher conduct such as what’s appropriate and what isn’t. Details have been altered to respect confidentiality.

It happened on a cloudy winter day. Police officers, as part of a criminal investigation, knocked on the door of a teacher’s residence. They were there to execute a search warrant. Once inside the home, the police immediately smelled a very strong odor of marijuana.

In the teacher’s basement, the police found jars containing two ounces of marijuana and a napkin with a little over four grams of marijuana. They also found marijuana seeds and digital scales.

The teacher and her husband were charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana. They appeared in court to answer to these charges.

During the court proceedings, the teacher’s husband pleaded guilty to charges that included simple possession of marijuana. As a result, the court withdrew the charges against the teacher.

The court heard that the teacher’s husband had the marijuana, seeds and scales in the basement. The teacher indicated that she was completely unaware that there were drugs in her residence, and that she was shocked by the news.

The Investigation Committee reviewed all the relevant information about the matter including letters, emails, police and court information, and correspondence from the member’s legal counsel.

If you were a member of the Investigation Committee what would you do?

The Outcome

The committee decided not to refer the matter to the Discipline Committee. However, members of the committee decided to issue a reminder to the teacher.

The committee noted that the alleged behaviour did not occur in the context of the school setting, but reminded the teacher that teachers are significant role models in our society, and they should therefore avoid behaviour that could lead to criminal charges.