Parents and guardians in Ontario can now find out if their child's teacher has been involved in a sexual abuse investigation.
Ontario has just become the first province in Canada to publicly disclose the names of educators that have been involved in sexual abuse investigations.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce was joined by Jane McKenna, Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues, for today's announcement.
"Our government takes a zero-tolerance approach for anyone who would abuse or threaten children," said Minister Lecce. "I ensured that any educator involved in this heinous criminality faces a life ban from working in any school or licensed child care program again, along with a permanent record on a public registry. We are going further by making information about criminal proceedings related to teachers and early childhood educators public with one aim: to protect the safety of Ontario’s children."
Lecce also says all certified educators must now complete a comprehensive mandatory sexual abuse program.
Currently, any Ontario teacher convicted of physical sexual relations with a student, or who has been involved in child pornography, faces a lifetime ban from the profession.
The ban also applies retroactively to teachers and early childhood educators who conducted such acts but whose memberships were either reinstated or not revoked at all.
The Ontario College of Teachers and the College of Early Childhood Educators are required to provide funding for therapy and counseling of students and children who are victims of sexual abuse or child pornography.
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