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Eilish Lemieux
[Editor's note: Text amended March 4, 2010. Amendment is set in bold type.]
Three Alberta parents have learned the hard way that there are limits to what they can say publicly about their children’s teachers.
This month, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice T. D. Clackson awarded more than $51,000 (including interest) in damages to several teachers, an Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) staff officer and the ATA after finding they had been variously defamed by three parents and the owner of SchoolWorks!
Justice Clackson found that two teachers and three principals from two communities, ATA Staff Officer Valerie Riewe and the ATA were variously defamed by Hinton-area parents Dawna and Ken McGowan, Red Deer parent Robyn Reid and SchoolWorks! owner Denis LaPierre.
In separate instances, the McGowans and Reid wrote malicious and misleading statements about the teachers at their children’s schools. With the help of LaPierre, these letters were repeated to others and posted on the SchoolWorks! website. Cease and desist letters sent by Riewe, who has since retired from the ATA, were also posted on the website.
The ATA does not enter into legal action lightly, says Calvin Fraser, ATA Coordinator of Member Services. "As teaching is a public position, it had previously been accepted that some level of criticism was inevitable, almost an occupational hazard. However, there have been some unfortunate instances in which parents felt free to criticize teachers and principals to the point where it was destructive of their personal and professional reputations. The ATA assists teachers in the face of parent complaints and concerns, and in most cases, the interests of both parents and teachers can be met," says Fraser. "Lawsuits are entered into only after all other avenues have been exhausted and careful consideration has been given to the value for teachers in the outcome." In extreme cases, where unreasonable and unproven damaging allegations have been made against teachers, the ATA supports its members with legal interventions ranging from cease and desist letters to defamation lawsuits.
The largest proportion of the award was given to a former principal who left his employment as a result of the defamation. In that case, Justice Clackson awarded the former principal more than $31,000, of which parent Dawna McGowan must pay $20,000 plus interest, Ken McGowan must pay $3,500 plus interest and LaPierre and SchoolWorks! must pay $3,500 plus interest. In his ruling, Justice Clackson agreed that Dawna McGowan had acted maliciously against the principal. "I have no hesitation in concluding that Ms. McGowan did act for an ulterior purpose. She wanted to denigrate [the principal]," he wrote. "Her heart had started to harden relative to him because she felt he was not doing his job properly. Her goal in saying these things was not her son’s education but rather was to sling mud. As time went on, she sought to destroy [him] and these statements and statements of their kind became one of the weapons in the arsenal she amassed to effect that purpose. Additionally, as I have said, these words were false, and she knew it. Repetition of these false words for an ulterior motive was malicious." In the same case, the defendants must also pay another teacher more than $12,000. The principal’s award was significantly higher because compensatory damages were considered—he has since left the teaching profession and has also left the province.
ATA Counsel Sandra Anderson was successful in arguing that fair comment must be based on facts, not things that aren’t true. "Parents must be reasonable in their communication with teachers and not go to extremes in raising concerns that schools have dealt with previously," she says. Justice Clackson rejected Dawna McGowan’s defence of fair comment saying, "Fair means the impugned words must be based on fact and must be an honest expression of the real opinion of the person making the comment. They must be conceived in the spirit of fair discussion, not malice."
In another part of this case, the judge ruled that Reid and LaPierre and SchoolWorks! are jointly liable for payments to the other three ATA members. LaPierre and SchoolWorks! must also pay damages to Riewe and the ATA. Fraser noted that the ATA itself asked for and received damages only in the amount of $1.00 (plus interest). "The ATA’s goal in taking this forward was to advance the understanding that a teacher’s reputation is extremely important and that malicious damage of that reputation by an individual or group cannot be permitted. We now have a clear judgment that says there are limits to acceptable criticism of teachers," says Fraser.
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