Alberta’s education minister says she’ll be pushing her Students First Act through urgently, following recent allegations surrounding a former Calgary teacher.
Adriana LaGrange says she was horrified by details alleging former Calgary Board of Education teacher Michael Gregory abused as many as 200 girls over a decade.
LaGrange says she was appalled to learn that the ATA didn’t believe it had an obligation to report the case to the police.
Albertans were outraged to learn that the Alberta Teachers Association did not report to police the results of an internal investigation that revealed horrific instances of one of its members abusing his students. 1/6 #ableg #AbEd pic.twitter.com/ukK4m0t8PT
— Adriana LaGrange (@AdrianaLaGrange) December 9, 2021
The Alberta Teachers’ Association didn’t immediately the abuse to police, even though Gregory told the ATA about it more than a decade ago.
The ATA, however, says the RCMP and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) were aware of allegations and “elements of the case.”
Gregory was formally investigated by the ATA and his license was suspended in 2006.
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Earlier this year, Gregory was charged with 17 offences relating to sexual misconduct but in February he committed suicide.
“[The ATA] chose to solely rely on a disciplinary process that recommended only a two-year suspension for admitted child abuse. We will never know what the results of a full, timely criminal investigation could have been,” said Lagrange in a statement.
“Unfortunately, this episode clearly demonstrates that the ATA failed to protect students from a predatory teacher.”
The education minister says while the government has taken steps to address similar situations with the introduction of the Students First Act, which aims to make the teacher disciplinary process more transparent, but it’s not enough.
RELATED: Alberta education minister takes on ATA after Calgary teacher wasn’t reported to police in 2006
“I will bring forward an order-in-council to immediately implement the provision in the Students First Act requiring the ATA to notify the registrar at Alberta Education of all complaints about their members when they are received. Currently, the ATA is only required to notify Alberta Education at the end of their disciplinary process if a matter goes to a hearing, including cases where recommendations are made to the Minister to suspend or cancel a certificate,” she said.
Alberta’s government will also immediately implement the provision in the Students First Act requiring the ATA to notify the Registrar at Alberta Education of all complaints about their members when they are received. 4/6
— Adriana LaGrange (@AdrianaLaGrange) December 9, 2021
She says she has also directed her staff to draft legislation that will separate the teacher disciplinary process from the ATA’s mandate.
“It is now abundantly clear that the ATA can no longer act as the investigator and the prosecutor for complaints against its members. This obvious conflict of interest has made Alberta an outlier. All other provinces and territories follow either an arm’s-length or government-operated model for teacher discipline.”
LaGrange says while she can’t change the past, she considers it her “moral obligation” to “fix the broken system”.
The ATA says LaGrange is trying to dismantle the teaching profession with “threats and intimidation”.
President Jason Schilling says it was the government that failed to report the case to police and the association did what it had to do in that situation
He calls it a “vindictive attack” and an attempt at distracting from her “inability to handle the education file”.
Former students suing CBE over abusive teacher
A class-action lawsuit is seeking damages amounting to $40 million from the Calgary Board of Education, as a group of former students say the board failed to act against Gregory.
The suit includes graphic details of sexual assault and harassment, something that was also an open secret in the school.
“No person, male or female, deserves to be subjected to this type of treatment. It is the goal of our clients that this does not happen to any other student in Calgary or throughout Canada. No person deserves to be subjected to this type of treatment,” said Jonathan Denis, a lawyer with Guardian Law Group who is representing the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit alleges Gregory, who was a Grade 7 to 9 teacher at the school, would groom female students, engaged in sexual relations with them, took students to his home, and subjected them to inappropriate behaviour in classes or on field trips.
READ MORE: ‘He is a monster’: Former students sue CBE for failing to investigate abusive teacher
The CBE is targeted in the lawsuit because the school offered greater opportunity for Gregory to abuse his power, and there were many problems with allowing him to go on trips and spend significant time alone with students.
The lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of the board, due to failing to supervise and discipline Gregory.
None of the allegations against Gregory have been proven in court yet.
-with files from Stefanie Lasuik and Tom Ross
