Executive Committee
The Executive Committee conducts the business of the College between Council meetings.
The committee is composed of the Chair and Vice-Chair of Council, the chairs of the Accreditation, Discipline, Finance, Fitness to Practise, Investigation, Registration Appeals, and Standards of Practice and Education committees. It must include a minimum of two publicly appointed members of Council. The committee meets, at minimum, four times each year.
The Executive Committee has the authority to make an interim order directing the Registrar to suspend a Certificate of Qualification and Registration if it is of the opinion that the actions or conduct of the member exposes – or is likely to expose – students to harm or injury. The committee may also direct the Discipline or Fitness to Practise committees to hold a hearing and determine an allegation without involving the Investigation Committee. During 2014, the committee referred one case to the Fitness to Practise Committee
The Registrar may request the approval of the Executive Committee to appoint a College investigator to a matter. During 2014, the committee approved one such request from the Registrar. This process is normally required when the College is unable to obtain access to information or evidence on a voluntary basis.
Under the Ontario College of Teachers Act, the Registrar may also request the approval of the Executive Committee to initiate an investigation against a member of the College based on “reasonable and probable grounds” for professional misconduct, incapacity or incompetence.
In 2014, the Executive Committee made several appointments to fill statutory, standing, regulatory and special committee vacancies as they occurred. In June, Council approved an amendment to the College bylaws to allow the Executive Committee to consider candidates for filling these vacancies instead of going through the Nomination Committee. This amendment streamlined the appointment process.
The Executive Committee proposed parameters and protocols for the public presentations at Council meetings pilot. Council approved the pilot, which began with the June 2014 Council meeting and Annual Meeting of Members. By the end of 2014, Council heard three separate presentations. The Executive Committee will review the pilot and make recommendations to Council in June 2015.
The Executive Committee also discussed different communication tools to support Council members when discussing their Council and committee responsibilities with employers and parents. The committee met with members of the Public Interest Committee in June. In October, the committee approved the duty to report under the Child and Family Services Act as the topic for the next professional advisory, which will be released in 2015.
The Executive Committee administers the College’s Scholarship Program, which includes three available scholarships or awards:
- the Ontario College of Teachers Primary/Junior or Junior/Intermediate Scholarship
- the Ontario College of Teachers Intermediate/Senior Scholarship and
- the Joseph W. Atkinson Scholarship for Excellence in Teacher Education, named in honour of the College’s second registrar.
The College received 165 applications for the scholarships this year, compared with 66 in 2013.
For 2014-2015, the committee selected:
- Hélène Monique Lefrançois as the recipient of the Joseph W. Atkinson Scholarship for Excellence in Teacher Education
- Rosalind Maura Michelle McCanny as the recipient of the Ontario College of Teachers Primary/Junior or Junior/Intermediate Scholarship
- Stephanie Kathryn Lum as the recipient of the Ontario College of Teachers Intermediate/Senior Scholarship.
Council presented these candidates with their awards at its December meeting.
