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Hearings

Three-member panels of the Discipline Committee conduct public hearings into cases of alleged incompetence or professional misconduct. Panels are composed of elected and appointed Council members. The certificate of a member found to be incompetent or guilty of professional misconduct may be revoked, suspended, and/or made subject to terms, conditions or limitations. In findings of professional misconduct, the committee may also reprimand, admonish or counsel the member, impose a fine, and order the member to pay costs.

Summaries of recent disciplinary cases are published on the following pages. Copies of the full decisions are available at oct.ca → Members → Complaints and Discipline → Decisions.

The College publishes professional advisories, available at oct-oeeo.ca/ advisories, which are intended to inform members’ professional judgment and practice. For more information about the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession, please visit oct-oeeo.ca/ethical.


Member: Corinne Bernadeth Christina Braam-Carew, OCT
Registration No: 421934
Decision: Reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded Corinne Bernadeth Christina Braam-Carew, a former teacher with the Peel District School Board. The panel found her guilty of professional misconduct and to be incompetent.

Braam-Carew, who was certified to teach in October 1998, did not attend the public hearings on October 20, 2016, and April 3, 2017, nor was she represented by legal counsel.

Her performance as a teacher was unsatisfactory based on three teacher-performance appraisals conducted by her principal. The panel found that she displayed a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment and disregard for the welfare of her students.

The panel ordered that she appear before it to receive a reprimand.

She was also directed to complete, at her own expense, an Additional Basic Qualification course or an Additional Qualification course, which covers curriculum, lesson planning, instructional strategies and assessment of student learning. She needs to do so prior to returning to teaching or taking any teaching position for which a Certificate of Qualification and Registration is required.

In addition, upon returning to a teaching position, she needs to make all reasonable efforts to have her employer carry out two teaching performance appraisals within two years after returning to teaching.

In its written decision, the panel stated, "The seriousness of the Member’s conduct in failing to teach her students diligently, and her refusal to improve her practice when support was given, indicate to the Committee that a reprimand is necessary. A reprimand allows the Committee to directly address with the Member the problem of her disengagement and disinterest in the improvement process.”

The panel added, “Given the Member’s failure to participate in the discipline process to date, the Member has shown a lack of accountability for her actions. The Committee has concerns regarding the Member’s governability, given her failure to engage in this process.”


Member: Leanora Brown, OCT
Registration No: 170623
Decision: Reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel ordered Leanora Brown, a former teacher at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, to be reprimanded for:

Brown, who was certified to teach in June 1987, did not attend the May 2, 2017, hearing, nor was she represented by legal counsel.

The Discipline Committee panel found Brown guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that she appear before it to receive a reprimand. She needs to do so within 60 days of the date of the order.

In addition, she was directed to complete a course of instruction, at her own expense, in professional boundaries with students. She needs to do so prior to starting employment for which a Certificate of Qualification and Registration is required.

In its written decision, the panel stated, “By using profanity and racist language, insulting students, speaking explicitly about sex and her personal life, and engaging in inappropriate physical stretching, the Member did not act responsibly and respectfully in class.”


Member: Richard S. Buckley
Registration No: 438110
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel suspended the certificate of Richard Buckley, a former teacher with the Bluewater District School Board, for engaging in a sexualized relationship with a student.

This matter was heard by the panel on November 15 and 16, 2016, and April 6, 2017. Buckley, who was certified to teach in June 2000, did not attend the hearing but had legal representation.

Buckley tried to isolate the student by asking her to meet privately and go for a drive. When he was hospitalized due to mental illness, he told the student that he was going to kill himself. He also pressured her to cover up their relationship, which started via text message and/or Facebook.

The College previously found Buckley guilty of harassing a colleague.

The Discipline Committee panel found Buckley guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that his teaching certificate be suspended for 24 months. He was directed to appear before the panel to receive a reprimand. He needs to do so within six months of the date of the order.

It also ordered him to successfully complete, at his own expense and within 90 days of the panel’s order, a course or courses regarding the College’s ethical standards of care, respect, trust and integrity, and maintaining professional boundaries with students.

In its written decision, the panel stated, “The Member used his position as a teacher to exert his influence over a student. He acted in a manner which would reasonably have made the student feel that she was responsible for the Member’s life or death. Such severe emotional blackmail was a gross violation of the Member’s duty to safeguard his students’ psychological well-being.”


Member: Genevieve Huguette Emmanuelle Charlton-Rogers
Registration No: 506691
Decision: Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Genevieve Huguette Emmanuelle Charlton-Rogers, a former teacher with the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, for engaging in a romantic and sexual relationship with a female student.

Licensed to teach in June 2006, she did not attend the hearing on April 25, 2017, nor was she represented by legal counsel.

The Discipline Committee panel found her guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke her Certificate of Qualification and Registration.

In its written decision, the panel stated, “Revocation will reinforce to the profession and to the public the importance of maintaining appropriate student/teacher boundaries, and that inappropriate conduct of this nature will not be tolerated.”


Member: Heather Elizabeth Earl
Registration No: 165174
Decision: Revocation, reprimand

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Heather Elizabeth Earl, a former teacher with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, for sexually abusing a student.

Earl engaged in a sexual relationship with a student for nearly three years. She paid the student approximately $200,000 to not report their relationship to the police.

The student eventually did and Earl was charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation. At the request of the Crown, those charges were stayed.

Certified to teach in June 1979, Earl attended the hearing on June 2, 2017, and was represented by legal counsel.

The Discipline Committee panel found Earl guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that her Certificate of Qualification and Registration be revoked.

The panel also ordered that she appear before it immediately after the hearing to receive a reprimand.

In its decision, the panel denounced Earl’s egregious conduct in the strongest terms.


Member: Noel Kendrick Germundson
Registration No: 656071
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel suspended the certificate of College member Noel Kendrick Germundson, a teacher in Tokyo at the time of the events in question. He engaged in inappropriate and personal communications with young students via Facebook and email.

This matter was heard by the panel on October 18, 2016, and April 19, 2017. Germundson, who was certified to teach in June 2014, attended part of the hearing remotely via a video link. He did not have legal representation.

His inappropriate and personal communications occurred repeatedly and involved young students. They continued even after the member’s employment was terminated for engaging in similar behaviour.

The Discipline Committee panel found him guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that his teaching certificate be suspended for one month. He was directed to appear before it to receive a reprimand. He needs to do so prior to starting a teaching position or any position for which a Certificate of Qualification and Registration is required.

The panel also ordered him to successfully complete, at his own expense, a course on appropriate boundaries and boundary violation issues.

In its written decision, the panel stated, “Members of the profession hold positions of trust and authority, and it is inappropriate for them to engage in personal communications about their private lives or other subjects with students that would not be appropriately discussed in a school or school-related setting.”


Member: Angela Anita Grogan
Registration No: 291737
Decision: Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the teaching certificate of Angela Anita Grogan for falsely reporting that a male colleague had physically abused and inappropriately touched a female student.

Grogan, employed by the Toronto District School Board, was certified to teach in July 1984. The hearing took place on November 1, 12, 13, 15 and December 2 in 2013, January 13, April 1–2 and October 17 in 2014, and on October 23, 2015.

The member attended all the hearing dates and was represented by legal counsel.

The College called 11 witnesses, including school administrators, teachers, educational assistants and a school board representative. The panel found that during the 2008–09 academic year, Grogan falsely reported to school administrators in separate incidents that a colleague had:

Grogan was on medical leave until her intended retirement in June 2016.

The panel found her guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that her Certificate of Qualification and Registration be revoked.

The panel also found that Grogan inappropriately called her colleague a liar in front of staff and students, but it made no finding of professional misconduct because this was an isolated incident.

Grogan filed a Notice of Appeal in relation to the finding of professional misconduct to the Ontario Divisional Court on May 28, 2015. Her appeal was subsequently dismissed.

While the panel acknowledged that it’s very important to encourage teachers to report all incidents of abuse where a teacher has a reasonably held suspicion that a student needs protection, the Committee found no evidence that Grogan had reasonable grounds to suspect that any abuse had occurred in this case.

The panel noted that members of the profession need not worry that they, too, may have their certificates revoked if they follow through on their duty to report, provided that they have a reasonably held belief that a student is in need of protection.

Revocation is being ordered in this case to address the member’s egregious conduct.

In its decision, the panel stated, “The Member had levelled groundless accusations of physical and sexual abuse against (a colleague), which were both stigmatizing and career-threatening.”

Members of the panel also noted that “false reporting can be extremely damaging,” and that this was not the type of behaviour that the duty to report seeks to encourage.


Member: Raymond Hubbard
Registration No: 192905
Decision: Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of Raymond Hubbard, a former teacher with the Durham District School Board. Hubbard was convicted of child luring leading to an invitation to sexual touching with a person he believed to be 14 years old.

Licensed to teach in June 1994, Hubbard did not attend the hearing on April 24, 2017, nor was he represented by legal counsel.

The panel heard that Hubbard began to converse through Facebook and Kik with a person who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. She was in fact an undercover police officer. The conversations, which included over 1,700 messages, involved requests to “cuddle” with the young girl to establish “an emotional connection” and asking for “pretty” or “sexy” pictures. He also initiated discussion about sexual encounters such as masturbation, sexual intercourse and “meeting up.”

He was sentenced to 12 months’ incarceration less pretrial custody.

The Discipline Committee panel found him guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.

In its written decision, the panel stated, “Given the serious nature of the Member’s actions and his criminal conviction, the Committee finds that, in order to protect the public, and children in particular, as well as to maintain the integrity of the profession, the Member’s certificate must be revoked.”


Member: James Joseph Lekavy
Registration No: 148679
Decision: Reprimand, Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the Certificate of Qualification and Registration of James Joseph Lekavy, a former teacher with the Kent County Board of Education (now Lambton Kent District School Board), who was convicted of crimes relating to sexual abuse.

Licensed to teach in June 1969, Lekavy did not attend the hearing on May 3, 2017, nor was his legal counsel present.

Lekavy repeatedly sexually abused a total of nine students over the course of almost 20 years.

He was sentenced to two years’ incarceration.

The Discipline Committee panel found him guilty of professional misconduct and directed the Registrar to revoke his Certificate of Qualification and Registration.

He was also directed to appear before the panel immediately after the hearing to receive a reprimand.

In its written decision, the panel echoed the sentiment of the sentencing judge who stated, “[it is] incomprehensible how a teacher charged with the responsibility for young developing boys could take such advantage of these children, engaged in a noble profession that permitted you to have such a tremendous influence over the course of young men’s lives that you would take advantage in this way for your own purpose and that’s reprehensible and it is just so serious … [The victims] looked up to you as a teacher and as a mentor. They wanted to be in your class. They saw this as a positive element in their life and you completely betrayed their trust.”

The panel added, “The Member’s conduct constituted devastating abuse of young boys who were his students, without regard for how his actions would affect his victims.”


Member: Magelle Lepage
Registration No: 205524
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel suspended the certificate of Magelle Lepage, a teacher with the Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien, for engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a student.

This matter was heard by the panel on April 13, 2017. Lepage, who was certified to teach in July 1995, attended the hearing and had legal representation.

Lepage’s psychological or emotional abuse of the student, which lasted for several months, was not sexual in nature. Her multiple inappropriate communications, including electronic communications, were part of a disturbing pattern of behaviour.

The behaviour continued even though the principal of the school warned her to end all inappropriate communications with the student.

The Discipline Committee panel found Lepage guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that her teaching certificate be suspended for four months. She was directed to appear before the panel immediately following the hearing to receive a reprimand.

It also ordered her to successfully complete, at her own expense and within 120 days of the panel’s order, a course on maintaining appropriate boundaries.

In its written decision, the panel stated, “The course on maintaining appropriate boundaries will assist with the Member’s rehabilitation by reminding her of her obligations as a member of the teaching profession.”


Member: Anne Lynn Maranda, OCT
Registration No: 502387
Decision: Reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded Anne Lynn Maranda, a teacher with the Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud, for her involvement in irregular practices related to the development of Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

Certified to teach in July 2006, Maranda attended the hearing on March 8, 2017, and was represented by legal counsel.

The Discipline Committee panel found her guilty of professional misconduct and directed that she appear before it immediately after the hearing to receive a reprimand.

Within 120 days of the decision, Maranda must also successfully complete, at her own expense, a course on professional ethics.

In its decision, the panel stated that it acknowledges that the member was obeying her supervisors’ instructions, that she made an effort to meet with her supervisors to discuss the irregular practice that she observed vis-à-vis the IEPs (a meeting that never took place) and that she was remorseful.


Member: Phillip Ian Nolan
Registration No: 262789
Decision: Reprimand, Revocation

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of Phillip Ian Nolan, a former teacher with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, for repeatedly sexually abusing two students.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual interference, in a criminal court, and was sentenced to two years in jail and three years of probation.

The trial judge said, “Mr. Nolan was a teacher; he was entrusted to educate, guide and inspire children. We, as parents and as a community, believe that our children are safe at school. We trust and we must trust the system. It is not a place where one of a parent’s worse nightmares is to become a reality. Yet, that is what occurred in this case. Mr. Nolan breached the trust.”

Certified to teach in June 1994, Nolan did not attend the Discipline Committee panel’s hearing on March 30, 2017, nor was he represented by legal counsel.

The panel found Nolan guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that his Certificate of Qualification and Registration be revoked.

It also ordered him to receive a written reprimand.

In its decision, the panel stated, “Through his reprehensible conduct, the Member has forfeited the privilege of holding a teaching certificate in Ontario.”


Member: Robert Brooklyn Roe, OCT
Registration No: 526372
Decision: Reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel reprimanded Robert Brooklyn Roe, a teacher with the Toronto District School Board, for making inappropriate comments to students and failing to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

The member, who was certified to teach in June 2008, attended the public hearing on June 2, 2017, with his legal counsel.

The panel heard that Roe’s conduct included comments and actions that crossed professional boundaries and made students feel uncomfortable.

It found Roe guilty of professional misconduct and ordered him to appear before it immediately after the hearing to receive a reprimand. The panel also directed the member to successfully complete, at his own expense, a pre-approved course on appropriate boundaries with students. He needs to do so within 90 days of the date of the order.

In its decision, the panel stated, “The coursework will remind the Member of his obligations as a teacher and will help him to make better decisions in any future interactions with students.”


Member: Zubair Ahmed Shaikh
Registration No: 429630
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions

A Discipline Committee panel suspended the certificate of College member Zubair Ahmed Shaikh for making a series of inappropriate comments with a sexual undertone to a female student while they were alone in his office.

His conduct had a profound negative impact on the student’s high school career.

Shaikh, who was certified to teach in August 1999, attended the hearing on January 28–29, 2016, February 11–12, 2016, March 29, 2016, and May 1, 2017. He had legal representation.

The Discipline Committee panel found him guilty of professional misconduct.

The panel ordered that his teaching certificate be suspended for six months and that he appear before it, immediately following the hearing, to receive a reprimand.

In addition, Shaikh was directed to complete, at his own expense, a course on maintaining professional boundaries. He was directed to do so within 90 days after the date of the order.

In its written decision, the panel stated, “It is wholly unacceptable for members of the teaching profession to make insensitive, demeaning and unprofessional comments to students.”


Member: Kenneth Gavin Bernard Williamson
Registration No: 150105
Decision: Revocation, Fine, Costs

A Discipline Committee panel revoked the certificate of College member Kenneth Gavin Bernard Williamson for engaging in repeated violent sexual abuse of a child.

Williamson sexually exploited a boy repeatedly over a long period of time. He gained access to him through a program meant to help vulnerable youth. Certified to teach in June 1980, Williamson did not attend the hearing on December 5, 2016, nor was he represented by legal counsel.

Williamson was convicted of buggery, indecent assault and gross indecency. He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. The criminal charges were ultimately stayed due to an unreasonable delay in the courts. The Court of Appeal did not overturn the factual findings made by the trial judge or the fact that a jury had found Williamson guilty. The Supreme Court of Canada only dealt with the issue of unreasonable delay and did not consider the factual findings made by the trial judge.

The Discipline Committee panel found Williamson guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that his Certificate of Qualification and Registration be revoked.

It also imposed a $5,000 fine and costs of $10,839.

The panel imposed the fine for a number of reasons. It found that the member’s conduct was one of the worst violations a person in a position of trust could commit upon a child. Williamson showed no remorse for his conduct during his criminal trial, did not acknowledge the tremendous damage his abuse had inflicted upon the victim, and did not participate in the College proceeding.

The panel found the costs were warranted given Williamson’s rationale for failing to participate in these proceedings — namely that he was financially secure and did not plan to teach again and, therefore, did not need to engage in the College’s processes.

By failing to communicate or engage in discussions with the College, Williamson required the College to incur the full costs of a contested hearing, which placed significant emotional burden upon the witness in this case.

In its decision, the panel stated, “The Member abused a vulnerable child who saw him as a father figure. The Member has preyed on a child for his own sexual gratification, and he should never again have the privilege of being certified as a teacher in Ontario.”

The panel added that the sustained sexual abuse had a significant detrimental effect on the victim’s mental health and his quality of life. The abuse damaged him psychologically and caused him lifelong pain.


Copies of the full decisions are available at oct-oeeo.ca/decisions.