January 2, 2025
Mr. Andy Rosenhek
Director, Investigations and Professional Conduct
Ontario College of Teachers
101 Bloor Street West
Toronto ON M5S 0A1
Dear Mr. Rosenhek:
We are less than impressed with the December 11, 2024 decision of the College to waive disciplinary proceedings against Taher Berenjian.
Taher Berenjian used to teach French at a Toronto District School Board school. In his
spare time, he would post material of which the three extracts below is merely a small
sample.
Yes, one of the College’s members posted material calling for a second Holocaust. Not
figuratively, literally. Not as an expression of opinion about the Middle East conflict. It is
hatred of Jews at its worst.
What did the College do? It placed him under interim suspension on May 19, 2022, shortly after one of our members filed a complaint. Then, nothing for 2½ years. Then, suddenly, on December 11, 2024, the College let him resign.
No disciplinary hearing.
No public denunciation of these reprehensible behaviours.
On June 14, 2024 you wrote to one of our members stating:
“The College does not agree with your characterization that it has a “hands-off” approach or that it does “nothing” with respect to complaints regarding antisemitism. Antisemitism and other forms of discrimination are serious matters. The College investigates and addresses such matters as efficiently and thoroughly as possible”
This statement is inconsistent with the reality of how the Berenjian case was handled.
Over the past three years, members of the CAEF have filed professional misconduct
complaints against dozens of OCT members for acts of antisemitism. We never
encountered any acts remotely as egregious as this. For the OCT to let this matter go away quietly speaks to gross institutional failure.
The ranks of Ontario’s teaching profession are marred by numerous teachers who are bigoted against Jews e.g., Paul Fromm, Shelley Mancuso, Joseph Di Marco, Andrew Kaprusiak. These are only the ones who were caught, and whose conduct was so awful that their cases made it to the OCT Discipline Committee. The College’s actions in the Berenjian case make it appear that the College is sweeping the problem under the rug, instead of taking decisive action. It’s a disgrace.
Would the OCT have dealt with the situation the same way if the targets of this invective were Black people, Indigenous people, or any other minority? The question answers itself.
According to the OCT’s definition of “Resigned – Cancelled” it says that a member in this category is still subject to College discipline. We very much want the College to institute discipline proceedings in this case for the purpose of general deterrence and denunciation. Above all, what we want to make sure is that the OCT puts in place checks and balances for its investigation processes that will not allow a travesty like
this to recur.
Given what has happened, we no longer have confidence that the OCT has the institutional motivation or culture to do the right thing on its own. So we’re taking the liberty of copying the Minister of Education, the Leader of the Opposition, and the media on this letter.
As US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, “Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.” Something is rotten at the OCT. Hopefully the publication of this letter will help clean it up.
Yours very truly,
Andria Spindel, Executive Director
Anita Bromberg, President
Cc Ms Jill Dunlop, Minister of Education
Comments