Thirteen teacher complaints made in three months, misconduct report shows

There were 13 revelations of teacher misconduct in the first quarter of the year – with an “almost evenly split” between employer and public whistleblowers.

Four of the 13 original cases reported to Bobby Taillefer, Manitoba's commissioner of professional conduct for teachers, were dismissed, according to a new 16-page report.

“Remember, insurance only covers certified teachers,” said Taillefer, whose office handles and investigates complaints.

Ruth Bonneville/Free Press Files

Manitoba Commissioner for Teacher Professional Conduct Bobby Taillefer.

“This is hypothetical—if a person were to file a complaint against an uncertified and unregulated teacher, then I would be obligated to inform them that this process does not apply to that (teacher) and why.”

Concerns about limited teaching certificate holders, such as uncertified substitute teachers, are addressed through the education department's Office of Professional Certification, she said.

Uncertified teachers—often internationally trained teachers or untrained substitutes—work in schools across Manitoba and are in demand in rural areas where they are in short supply.

While Taillefer confirmed that each termination was related to a complaint filed by a member of the public, she declined to share details due to the small amount of data collected.

She declined to say whether the uncertified teacher's behavior had been observed this year.

Taillefer expressed concerns about the identification of individuals, including witnesses and defendants, who are entitled to due process. However, it has promised to include information about its first 15 months of operation in its 2025-26 report.

Throughout her 39-year career, the French-speaking teacher has held various leadership positions within the union. She began her role as the province's independent education commissioner in January.

Taillefer said she spent much of 2025 giving presentations to raise awareness of Manitoba's new teacher registry. She met with trustees and human resources specialists to pitch an online tool that lists the disciplinary records of certified kindergarten teachers to grade-12 teachers across the province.

The Commissioner said she has concluded that outreach will always be an important part of her job.

“My office is committed to transparency and will share more detailed data in future reports once more data is available to better inform stakeholders, partners and the public,” she wrote in the report.

“However, we are equally committed to protecting the privacy of individuals (including students and witnesses).”

Of the nine remaining cases, as of March 31, two were under investigation and seven were in the preliminary review stage.

Taillefer is required by law to publish an annual report on teacher complaints. Subsequent summaries will include an overview of results for the financial year from April to March.

The first-of-its-kind report includes incidents that occurred between Jan. 6 and March 31, as new disciplinary protocols went into effect earlier in the year.

Since the report was published, it has published two “consent agreements” on the teacher registry. She has the discretion to call a public hearing if any allegations are particularly egregious.

These contracts, commonly known as CRAs, include the agreed upon facts of a teacher's misconduct case and its consequences.

The latest, the first agreement published entirely in French, describes a winter incident in which a child's mouth was taped shut in response to disruptive behavior.

It says music teacher Julien Hochman-Berard, who signed the agreement Oct. 22, placed masking tape over the child's mouth for several minutes after other classroom management methods failed in January.

The six-page document states that the teacher had previously humorously covered his lips with masking tape to encourage students to remain silent and follow instructions.

Superintendent Alain Laberge said an “urgent” internal investigation had been carried out. On Monday, he confirmed that the teacher had met all the conditions necessary to return to work at the Franco-Manitobain branch.

On January 14, Hochman-Berard was placed on administrative leave. He served a three-day unpaid suspension and was required to develop a classroom management plan with another teacher in the department. His class was also subject to “regular surveillance” earlier this year.

Hochman-Berard no longer works for the school's French-language department. He is currently teaching in another Winnipeg school division and his teaching certificate is currently in good standing.