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Release from the Society for Quality Education
The Society for Quality Education responded today to Justice LeSage’s independent review of the Ontario College of Teachers investigation and disciplinary procedures. While Justice LeSage reported at length on the growing influence of the teacher federations, his recommendations on the resulting conflict of interest issues don’t go nearly far enough.
The Ontario College of Teachers regulates the profession of teaching and governs its members. Unfortunately, the College's governance has not functioned in the public interest as well as most other professional bodies, such as the College of Nurses and the Professional Engineers of Ontario. A majority of the members on the Council of the Ontario College of Teachers are strongly affiliated with provincial teachers' federations (in several cases they actually were or are in a high leadership position), thus, the College is weakened by a very fundamental conflict of interest. Inevitably, its ability to pursue its mandate is compromised.
A significant part of the College's mandate is to receive and investigate complaints against teachers and deal with discipline and fitness-to-practise issues. Unfortunately, the College seldom chooses to investigate allegations of teacher incompetence. The fact that the majority of the College's members have strong affiliations with Ontario teacher federations goes a long way towards explaining the College's lack of attention to this important function.
In the course of their normal activities, the teacher federations routinely provide massive legal support to their members who have been accused of misdeeds of some kind. The federation-affiliated members of the College are provided with tools which they can - and do - bring to bear in order to provide an additional layer of protection.
In our original submission to the LeSage Review Panel, SQE recommended that the number of federation-affiliated council members be limited to no more than two – enough to allow representation of the teacher union point of view but not enough to allow the federations to dominate the College. On this point, Justice LeSage writes as follows:
"There has been cynicism expressed to us about the relationship of the teacher unions with Council. This is exacerbated, when as we are told, prior to each Council meeting, the elected members of Council meet with their respective unions to consider and be informed on the upcoming Council agenda."
"Those optics do nothing to enhance the independence of the Discipline, Investigation and Fitness to Practise Committee that I have been asked to review."
"Whilst I recognize that cases before the Investigation Committee and/or Discipline Committee would not be on the Council meeting agenda, the perception of impartial independent adjudication, which is vital at both the Investigation Committee and the Discipline Committee is compromised."
We agree with Justice LeSage, but would strengthen his recommendation further to stipulate that no past teacher federation executive member should ever be allowed to serve on the Council’s disciplinary committees.
Until this very serious conflict of interest problem is corrected, no procedural overhaul, no matter how ingenious or rigorous, is likely to lead to increased effectiveness or public confidence.
The Society for Quality Education, www.