Maskless teacher put on leave after charges

Minister blasts educator, fellow conservative MPP for flouting COVID rules

A Toronto Catholic teacher charged under the workplace safety act for failing to wear a mask has been placed on leave by the board as it conducts its own investigation.

The case of the itinerant music teacher, who contracted COVID-19 in early October, and who’d had contact with children and staff at about five schools — and whose diagnosis led to the week-long shutdown of one of them — is a worry, said Labour Minister Monte McNaughton.

“Look, it’s deeply concerning to me not just as minister but as a father of a young child,” McNaughton told reporters Wednesday at Queen’s Park.

His ministry laid the charge after inspectors responded to a COVID-19-related complaint about St. Charles Catholic School near Dufferin Street and Lawrence Avenue West.

McNaughton said inspectors checked the Toronto Catholic District School Board facility last Friday and laid charges “because the individual failed to wear proper PPE (personal protective equipment) as required by the employer.” The board itself is not facing any charges.

Sources familiar with the school have alleged the teacher also did not self-screen and failed to isolate after falling ill. They also alleged that while he had a mask, he wore it improperly — looped around his ears but pulled under his chin, exposing his nose and mouth, both in the classroom with students and around fellow teachers in the staff room, and while he was symptomatic.

Shazia Vlahos, a spokesperson for the board, said “staff have been trained on best practices and protocols to ensure the safety of everyone in a school setting. Before coming to school, all staff and students are expected to conduct a self-assessment for COVID-19 symptoms.”

“We need everyone to step up their game and just abide by the rules that are out there. They’re common sense,” McNaughton said, noting 25,000 workplace investigations have so far been conducted and issued 22,000 orders and shut down 37 work sites due to COVID-19.

When asked about Progressive Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff not wearing a mask at a Niagara restaurant and posing maskless for photos with about 40 people, the minister chided his colleague.

“We all have to do better,” said McNaughton, emphasizing he would never have done what Oosterhoff did last weekend.

“Everyone needs to step up. I understand Mr. Oosterhoff has apologized, but we all have to … do better to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As MPPs, we all have to lead by example,” he said firmly.

But NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

“If people are flouting the rules and putting other people at risk, then there should be consequences,” Horwath said.

“Those consequences have to meted out equally,” she said, adding Oosterhoff “did the exact same thing” as the teacher. “Betty’s restaurant is a workplace.”

The teacher, who will appear before a justice of the peace in February, could face a fine of up to $1,000.

The Toronto Elementary Catholic Teachers said the individual will have union representation at that hearing.

Asked Wednesday about the charge, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said “there has to be absolute compliance with the protocols set out by the chief medical officer, local public health ... and so largely, overwhelmingly, we’re seeing educators and staff and students uphold their responsibilities and wearing masks and distancing, washing their hands.”