Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustee Michael Del Grande has been ordered by the teachers’ regulatory college to pay $85,000 within two years, stemming from remarks he made in opposition to gender ideology during his role as trustee.
After previously finding Del Grande guilty of professional misconduct in April, the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) Discipline Committee imposed a fine of $5,000 plus an order to pay $80,000 to cover costs associated with the disciplinary proceedings at an Aug. 26 penalty hearing.
“The Member’s amendment was inflammatory, offensive, used disrespectful language and drew discriminatory comparisons,” the committee wrote in its April 8 decision.
Del Grande says although he was educated as a teacher and was formerly a member of the OCT, he has never worked as a teacher.
Case
During a Nov. 7, 2019, TCDSB board meeting, trustees were debating whether to add “gender identity” and “gender expression” as protected grounds under the school board’s Code. In disagreeing with the addition of these terms, Del Grande proposed an amendment to Code that would have added several sexually deviant terms to the Code as well, including “bestiality.”
Del Grande told the disciplinary committee he had been exaggerating and using hyperbole to make a “slippery slope” argument to demonstrate that opening up the Code to new terms like “gender expression” would lead to further unwarranted expansions of protected grounds and further drift from Catholic doctrine.
A separate allegation against Del Grande pertained to his behaviour toward a student trustee in a September 2019 meeting. The OCT states Del Grande remarked that the student, who opposed showing of an anti-abortion film in school that the student trustee said contained inaccurate information, had been “brainwashed by the liberals.”
While the committee found Del Grande to have engaged in “disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional” conduct in the manner in which he opposed adding the new terms to the school board’s Code, it did not find him guilty of misconduct with regard to the student trustee.
The long-lasting proceedings against Del Grande started in November 2022 and continued off and on through the next two years.
The OCT states that its professional conduct rules can apply to members even outside of the workplace, including electronically or in their interactions with members of the public, and says its rules are intended to be in the public interest and protect students.
The OCT didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Del Grande’s Response
Del Grande said he has never worked as a teacher, although he had an Ontario teaching certificate and was a member of the OCT prior to resigning his OCT membership on Aug. 26 and undertaking never to teach in an Ontario public school. He continues to serve as a TCDSB trustee.
He said that one of his primary concerns is that OCT regulations were applied against him even while he was carrying out a role that wasn’t teaching.
“Any person from any profession in public office can be disciplined if a complaint is logged against [them] even if they have never used their credentials,” he told The Epoch Times.
Del Grande also said that his case brings up fundamental questions regarding freedom of religion and expression.
“Will the day come when you cannot preach against immorality and sin? Will pastors be charged?”
He added that the length of proceedings also significantly interrupted his life.
“The disciplinary function took almost 7 years to complete. You cannot get on with your life,” Del Grande said, noting that in his view the penalty amount is unjust.
“The original penalty was $2,000 fine and 6 month suspension from teaching. That went to a $5,000 fine and $80,000 cost penalty,” he said. “It was harsh, unfair for the ‘crime.’”
Del Grande said he believes that the proceedings against him were trying to harm his reputation and sully his past contributions to his community.
“Bottom line: They wanted to send their message. No mercy,” Del Grande said, adding that he doesn’t have the financial means at this time to pursue a legal case against the OCT.
In another case resulting in a far quicker judgment and significantly lower penalty, former Ontario vice-principal Paul Paterson was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine by the OCT in October 2023 after being found guilty of boundary violations with multiple students, including “illegal behaviour” and encouraging a student to use drugs.
The proceedings against Paterson lasted six days.
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