Jim Black approached Canadians for Accountability in early 2009, looking for help. A retired Ontario teacher with 30 years of experience, he appears to have an excellent reputation amongst his peers: in 2002 he was nominated for the Prime Minister's Award in teaching and he served on the Ontario College of Teachers Council from 2002-2003. We evaluated his situation and determined that he fit the criteria of a whistleblower in difficulty.
Mr. Black was contacted by the Ontario Ministry of Education in 2004 and asked to provide a critique of the Ontario College of Teachers. As his experience there was troubling, he produced a four-page report that was very critical of the College - notably in its allowing sexual offenders back into the classroom - and recommended some significant changes. Following this, he reports a series of escalating reprisals. He retired in 2006 and made his report more public. This resulted in media attention, which in turn led to disciplinary action by the College.
Mr. Black now exists in a Kafka-esque psuedo-legal nightmare, charged with vague offences and threatened with fines and suspension - despite the fact that he has now retired. Yet, as far as we can determine, no action has been taken to address the problems that Mr. Black reported.
Canadians for Accuntability prepared a letter of support and sent it to the Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers, Mr. Brian McGowan. This letter, linked below, asks for Mr. McGowan to consider abandoning the disciplinary process now under way and re-evaluate the case. We have not received a reply, and it appears as though the College intends to penalize Mr. Black. The letter also contains details of the case.
Letter to OCT Registrar Brian McGowan, dated February 20, 2009 (1.4 MB)
Mr. McGowan responded the same day we sent our letter. He does not address the substance of our letter or the public interest aspect of Mr. Black's case. Read his reply here:
Letter to Canadians for Accountability, dated February 20, 2009 (133 KB)
We urge everyone concerned with accountability to write to the OCT Registrar and the Ontario Minister of Education to support Mr. Black and request the the current disciplinary process be suspended and action be taken to address the issues he raised. Feel free to use the draft letter below.
Sample Letter of support for Jim Black
Addresses
Brian McGowan
Registrar
Ontario College of Teachers
121 Bloor Street East
Toronto ON M4W 3M5
Fax: 416-961-8822
E-mail: bmcgowan@oct.ca
The Honourable Kathleen Wynne
Ontario Minster of Education
Mowat Block, 900 Bay Street
Toronto ON M7A 1L2
Fax: 416-325-6348
E-mail: The Minister can be contacted via the Ministry Website.
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