The Discipline Committee hears matters regarding allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence which have been referred by the Complaints Committee following investigation.
The College is mandated to publish a summary of its disciplinary decisions and reasons when the Discipline Committee makes a finding of guilt. These disciplinary decisions are then published on the College’s website, on our blog and on CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute’s website.
Amanjot Kaur Dhanoa, RECE # 104321
Facts: The Member pled guilty to professional misconduct. Following an uncontested hearing, the Discipline Committee accepted the following admissions as facts.
The Member engaged in aggressive, forceful and/or demeaning conduct towards six toddlers she was responsible for supervising. The Member pinched one child’s cheeks, shook their head and face, dropped them roughly in a chair, and pulled them backwards by the neck of their shirt. The Member slapped another child on the side of their face and/or head, causing them to fall over on the ground. The Member dragged and/or pulled a third child by their legs, struck their back and arm, and covered their face with her sweater, holding their mouth shut while they cried. The Member lifted a fourth child off the ground and forcefully dropped them onto their buttocks/tailbone. The Member pinched two additional children on their cheeks while forcefully shaking their heads and faces.
The Member also observed her room partner engage in aggressive, forceful and abusive conduct towards the children and did not take steps to prevent this conduct from recurring. She also did not report this conduct to the Children’s Aid Society or to the centre’s management.
The Member pleaded guilty to six counts of assault contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. She received a fifteen-month conditional sentence, three-year probation and a DNA order.
Finding: The panel found that the evidence supported findings of professional misconduct contrary to the Early Childhood Educators Act.
The Member was found guilty of several acts of professional misconduct (Ontario Regulation 223/08), including verbally abusing a child who was under her professional supervision; physically abusing a child who was under her professional supervision; psychologically and/or emotionally abusing a child who was under her professional supervision; failing to maintain the standards of the profession; acting or failing to act in a manner that, having regard to the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional; contravening a law, which contravention has caused or may have caused a child who was under her professional supervision to be put at or remain at risk; and conducting herself in a manner that is unbecoming a member.
The Panel called the acts of misconduct “heinous” and noted that they left lasting psychological and emotional effects on the children and their families. Additionally, the Member failed to report abuse of children by another member. The Panel stated, “Members have a legal duty not to ignore abuse.”
Penalty: The Committee directed the Registrar to revoke the Member’s certificate of registration. The Committee also required the Member to appear before it to be reprimanded. The Committee also ordered the Member to pay $1,000 to reimburse the College for a portion of the prosecution and hearing costs.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.
Thi Thuy An Tran, RECE # 131385
Facts: The Member pled guilty to professional misconduct. Following an uncontested hearing, the Discipline Committee accepted the following admissions as facts. The Member attempted to prevent a child from waking up other sleeping children by pretending to be a dinosaur that bites children. However, when the child made an unexpected motion, the Member’s mouth, which was in close proximity to the child’s body, made contact with the child’s arm, leaving a mark that was still visible three hours later.
Finding: The panel found that the evidence supported findings of professional misconduct.
The Member was found guilty of several acts of professional misconduct (Ontario Regulation 223/08), including failing to maintain the standards of the profession; acting or failing to act in a manner that, having regard to the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional; and conducting herself in a manner that is unbecoming a member.
The Panel noted that although the Member did not intend to harm the child, she did inadvertently harm a child while taking a game too far. The Panel stated, “there are many other ways to interact with children and to keep them engaged while others are resting.”
Penalty: The Committee directed the Registrar to suspend the Member’s certificate of registration for at least five months and to impose terms, conditions and limitations on the Member’s certificate of registration including coursework and mentorship. The Committee also required the Member to appear before it to be reprimanded and ordered the Member to pay $1000 to reimburse the College for a portion of the prosecution and hearing costs.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.
Navneet Kaur, RECE # 132532
Facts: The Member pled guilty to professional misconduct. Following an uncontested hearing, the Discipline Committee accepted the following admissions as facts. The Member became distracted while she was supervising four toddlers in the centre’s fenced-in playground. Two of the children left the playground, walked alone and unsupervised to an adjacent street corner, and stepped onto the roadway. Two community members saw the children on the roadway, stopped their vehicles, and returned the children to the centre. The Member did not notice that the children were missing until another staff member notified her of the children’s return. In total, the children were unsupervised for approximately four to nine minutes.
Finding: The panel found that the evidence supported findings of professional misconduct.
The Member was found guilty of several acts of professional misconduct (Ontario Regulation 223/08), including failing to supervise adequately a person who was under her professional supervision; failing to maintain the standards of the profession; acting or failing to act in a manner that, having regard to the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional; and conducting herself in a manner that is unbecoming a member.
The Panel stated, “[The Member’s] irresponsible actions put two children in serious danger” and “the consequences could have been grave” had responsible members of the community not returned the children.
Penalty: The Committee directed the Registrar to suspend the Member’s certificate of registration for at least seven months and to impose terms, conditions and limitations on the Member’s certificate of registration including mentorship. The Committee also required the Member to appear before it to be reprimanded and ordered the Member to pay $1000 to reimburse the College for a portion of the prosecution and hearing costs.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.