Ontario Publishes Educators' Criminal Proceedings: What It Means If You Are Charged

Ontario allows its regulatory colleges for educators to publish information about criminal proceedings involving their members on the public register — before any verdict. For a teacher or early childhood educator facing an allegation, that is a consequence which arrives long before a court decides anything.

What can be published, and by whom?

The Ontario College of Teachers and the College of Early Childhood Educators may disclose information about criminal proceedings involving their members on their public registers. Ontario was the first Canadian jurisdiction to take this step, and the stated purpose is to give parents information about the safety of their children.

The register is public and searchable. This is separate from, and operates faster than, the criminal process.

Why does this matter before a verdict?

Because the ordinary protections of the criminal process do not apply to a regulator. A person charged with an offence is presumed innocent in court; a public register entry is not a finding of guilt, but it is visible to employers, parents and anyone who searches.

The practical consequence is that an educator facing an allegation is dealing with two proceedings at once, on different timelines and with different rules. What is said in one can affect the other, which is why they need to be handled together rather than sequentially.

What professional consequences can follow?

An educator found to have engaged in sexual relations with a student, or involved in child pornography, faces a lifetime ban from the profession. That ban also applies retroactively to earlier conduct by members whose registration was reinstated or not revoked at the time.

Both colleges are also required to fund therapy and counselling for student and child victims of sexual abuse, child pornography and other sexual offences under the Criminal Code. Ontario teachers must complete a mandatory sexual abuse prevention programme.

What should an educator facing an allegation do?

• Get criminal advice before speaking to anyone, including a school board investigator or the college. A statement given in a professional process is not confidential from the criminal one.
• Do not resign to make it go away. Resigning does not end a college proceeding and can complicate both.
• Get separate regulatory advice. Criminal defence and professional discipline are different fields, and you may need both.
• Preserve records — communications, schedules, and anything establishing where you were and who was present.
• Expect the timelines to diverge. The college process can move while a charge is outstanding.

Where does the criminal side lead?

Allegations of this kind are usually charged under the sexual offence provisions of the Criminal Code. Depending on the allegation that may be sexual interference where a complainant is under 16, sexual assault, or exposure.

Where a complainant is under 16, consent is removed as a defence by section 150.1, and the close-in-age exceptions do not apply to someone in a position of trust or authority — which an educator is. Our page on the age of consent explains how that works.

A conviction also carries consequences beyond the sentence, including registration under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and orders restricting contact with young people.

How reliable is this summary?

The change was announced by the Ministry of Education. Regulatory rules are amended from time to time, so confirm the current position with the relevant college before relying on any summary, including this one.