The Discipline Committee makes decisions in cases where an RECE is accused of professional misconduct and/or incompetence by the Complaints Committee after an investigation.
The College is required to publish summaries of all Discipline Committee decisions. We are also required to publish written decisions from Discipline cases, which can be found on the Hearings Office’s website and on CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute’s website.
Olivia Rose Miele, RECE #127278
Facts: Over a period of about 2 weeks, the RECE engaged in numerous aggressive, demeaning and forceful acts with toddlers that she was supervising.
The RECE threatened children. She held a butter knife behind a toddler, said she wanted to stab them, and gestured and shook the knife. She threatened to smack a toddler’s head against a wall. She yelled at children that she hated them and hoped they would all die.
The RECE used demeaning language to children. She told multiple children to shut up. She cursed at multiple children on multiple occasions. She also spoke harshly to children and used slurs.
And the RECE was physically aggressive with children. Some of the words used to describe her actions with multiple children were “grabbing”, “forcefully lifting”, “slamming”, “pushing”, “dragging” and “pulling”.
These incidents took place in front of other children.
Decision: The Committee decided that the RECE was guilty of professional misconduct, including physical abuse; verbal abuse; psychological or emotional abuse of a child; and failing to maintain the standards. The Committee also decided that she was guilty of acting in a way that other RECEs would find disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional and that is unbecoming an RECE.
The Committee ordered immediate revocation of the RECE’s certificate of registration; and a verbal reprimand.
The Committee called the RECE’s conduct “egregious” and wrote that “RECEs who are not able to treat children with respect need to remove themselves from the classroom. They should ask for help from colleagues, if they have any, and they should make sure to build new skills to maintain their own emotional regulation.”
The Committee decided that revocation is the only appropriate outcome in this case because the RECE’s misconduct was so severe. The Committee said that this decision protects the public by preventing this individual from practising the profession.
Finally, the RECE’s conduct was first reported to the centre by a parent who saw something concerning. Without knowing whether or not there were other professionals in the room with the RECE, the Committee reminded all RECEs of their duty to report others’ abusive conduct to the children’s aid society when they see or hear it.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.
Iwona Kaminska, RECE #06220
Facts: The RECE failed to notice that a 3-year-old child left the soccer field where she and two colleagues were supervising two preschool classes. The child walked alone and unsupervised for about 400 metres and crossed a driveway to another facility. They were missing for 15 to 30 minutes. They RECE did not notice they were missing until a colleague brought it to her attention.
The soccer field was unfenced on one side. It was being used for outdoor play at the time of the incident because the centre’s playground was under construction and unsafe. After the incident, the centre took immediate steps to restore the playground and provide enhanced safety measures for staff supervising children outdoors.
Decision: The Committee decided that the RECE was guilty of professional misconduct, including failing to adequately supervise a child; and failing to maintain the standards. The Committee also decided that she was guilty of acting in a way that other RECEs would find disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional and that is unbecoming an RECE.
The Committee ordered a 4-month suspension; terms, conditions or limitations meant to improve the RECE’s practice, including mentorship; and a verbal reprimand.
The Committee said that RECEs are responsible for properly supervising children in their care and monitoring their environment for risks. They highlighted that this incident could have been prevented if the RECE had shared her concerns about deficiencies in the play area with the centre’s management and encouraged RECEs to advocate proactively for environments that put children’s safety first.
The Committee recognized the RECE’s remorse and admission of misconduct. They wrote that this showed her desire to remediate her practice.
The Committee also addressed the centre’s role in this incident: “The RECE had an individual professional responsibility for supervising children. However, the Centre also shares responsibility for children’s safety and did not show proper leadership in ensuring all spaces were safe before the incident. The Panel reminds management of their responsibility for children’s wellbeing and safety.”
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.
Harjit Kour Bansal, RECE #34897
Facts: The RECE, a supervisor, intentionally falsified training records for the purposes of a Ministry of Education licensing inspection. She documented that several staff members had been trained on one child’s anaphylaxis plan and on another child’s Individualized Support Plan for Children with Special Needs when they had not been.
The centre investigated after a staff member discovered that her initials were forged on the training record. The RECE admitted forging that staff member’s initials, but she lied by denying her other forgeries.
Decision: The Committee decided that the RECE was guilty of professional misconduct, including breaching standards of the profession, falsifying records, failing to keep records, and signing or issuing a record she knew contained a false statement. The Committee also decided that she was guilty of acting in a way that other RECEs would find disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional and that is unbecoming an RECE.
The Committee ordered a 6-month suspension; terms, conditions or limitations meant to improve the RECE’s practice, including courses and mentorship; and a verbal reprimand.
The RECE was responsible for ensuring a safe environment, including completing proper documentation. Even though her dishonesty was a one-time lapse in judgment at a stressful time in her life, it eroded the trust placed in RECEs and put children at risk. The Committee wrote that the suspension and required mentorship would be good opportunities for her self-reflect to improve her practice.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.
Heather Anne Addy, RECE #12747
Facts: While supervising children during nap time, the RECE tried to coax a 3-year-old with special needs to sleep by pushing on their back and making contact with their legs to keep them on their cot.
Later that day, the RECE forcefully grabbed a different 3-year-old by the wrist and instructed them to stop pushing children. The RECE forcefully intervened a second time, which caused the child to scream and cry. The RECE had grabbed this child by the arm and made them cry on a number of other occasions.
The RECE’s employer had given her a written warning about inappropriate physical interactions with a child about 18 months before these incidents. After these incidents, she did extensive professional development to improve her behaviour guidance strategies, particularly with young children.
Decision: The Committee decided that the RECE was guilty of professional misconduct, including physical abuse; psychological or emotional abuse of a child; and failing to maintain the standards. The Committee also decided that she was guilty of acting in a way that other RECEs would find disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional and that is unbecoming an RECE.
The Committee ordered an 8-month suspension; terms, conditions or limitations meant to improve the RECE’s practice, including courses and mentorship; and a verbal reprimand.
The Committee said that children’s wellbeing must always be the focus of RECEs’ work. However, the Committee acknowledged that the RECE was facing workplace stress at the time of the incidents and that working with children can be stressful. The Committee also recognized the RECE’s efforts to address the role that stress played in the incident to help make sure a similar incident wouldn’t happen again. It viewed the suspension that it ordered as a chance for the RECE to reflect on her behaviour so she can return to work with tools to handle challenging situations.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.
Withdrawal of accusations
The Discipline Committee can allow the College to withdraw accusations of professional misconduct if it is in the public interest to do so. If the accusations are withdrawn, the Discipline Committee makes no decision about whether the RECE is guilty or not guilty of professional misconduct. The Discipline Committee does issue a written decision explaining why it was in the public interest to allow the withdrawal.
The Discipline Committee allowed the College to withdraw the accusations of professional misconduct that had been made about:
- Amandeep Kaur, RECE #102407 – The Discipline Committee’s decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”
- Emily Patenaude, RECE #66489 – The Discipline Committee’s decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”
- Lisa Anne-Marie Robinson, RECE #170806 – The Discipline Committee’s decision can be found here,linked under the heading “Special Notices”
- Jirlyn Pineda Bidos, RECE #36872 – The Discipline Committee’s decision can be found here,linked under the heading “Special Notices”
- Esperance Nsona Wutawaku, RECE #55831 – The Discipline Committee’s decision can be found here,linked under the heading “Special Notices”