Ontario Teacher Charged With Failing to Help Student in Medical Distress Won’t Be Working in Schools, Board Says

A empty classroom is pictured at Eric Hamber Secondary school in Vancouver, B.C., on March 23, 2020. Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press

The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) said a teacher who was charged by police with failing to provide the necessities of life to a student, will not be working in schools.

“Thames Valley is aware that charges have been laid involving an Occasional Teacher employed at the board,” a spokesperson said in an email to The Epoch Times. “The employee will not be assigned to a school.”

St. Thomas Police announced the charges on Jan. 5 against the 26-year-old teacher who has not been identified.

Police said the incident happened in November 2023.

“St. Thomas Police learned that a student experiencing a medical episode in their classroom was not provided with the necessaries required to ensure their wellbeing,” a police news release said.

“The student was taken to hospital where they were admitted and treated for a serious medical condition.”

The student has been released from hospital, according to police.

Police said the teacher was occasionally employed with the TVDSB, but there is “a duty for those in a position of trust or authority to provide supervision when one person is under the other’s charge and is unable to provide necessaries of life for themselves.”

The Canadian Criminal Code says those found guilty of failing to provide the necessities of life to those under their care can face up to five years in jail.

Teachers Struggle With Classrooms

The charges follow surveys that found teachers have been struggling in the classrooms, with some unions threatening strikes.

In May 2023, a survey done by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario said that teachers do not have enough support.

Teachers said that supports like education assistants and social workers are only available some of the time or not at all. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said educational assistants are not always present, 56 percent said social workers are rarely available, and 53 percent said there is a shortage of child and youth workers during the school year.

Similar data was collected about teachers in Saskatchewan, where 95 percent said the increasing complexities of the classroom have taken their toll and caused mental, emotional, or physical fatigue in teachers.

In August 2023, teachers in Ontario were considering strike action over workplace supports, among other issues.

The president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario said at the annual general meeting that the union put forward proposals on special education, class, sizes, violence in schools, and wages.

In November 2023, about 800 schools in Quebec were shut after teachers went on strike. A tentative deal was announced on Dec. 28, 2023, that covered the issues of work conditions and salary.

Ninety-five percent of Ontario elementary school teachers voted to strike in November, but a deal was reached by Dec. 15.

Teachers in Saskatchewan have been struggling to reach a deal with the province over issues like class size, classroom complexity, and supports for students in the classroom. In October 2023, members voted in favour of sanctions and job action.

The teachers union has already threatened job action for the new year.

“The Government of Saskatchewan has now set a course that makes job action by teachers—and the disruption that comes with it—virtually inevitable,” Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samantha Becotte said in a Dec. 13 statement.

“As we await the Conciliation Board’s report, the Federation will be finalizing the strategy for implementing sanctions.”

The provincial government said negotiations should stay focused on salaries and benefits.

“Saskatchewan is a large and diverse province, and school divisions make decisions every day on how to best resource classrooms that respond to local needs,” the Ministry of Education reportedly said. “The Government of Saskatchewan will not bargain away the ability of locally elected school boards to continue to make these decisions.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.