Bullying lawsuit could set precedent
Mom suing Catholic board for $325,000
By JUSTIN SADLER, QMI Agency
OTTAWA -- A lawsuit that alleges the Ottawa Catholic School Board failed to protect a bullying victim could set a legal precedent, said a bullying prevention expert.
Krisha Stanton is suing the school board for $325,000 — as well as other school faculty and staff — after she said her 10-year-old child was the victim of repeated acts of bullying and now suffers from post-traumatic stress and anxiety.
If successful, the case could set a precedent in Ontario, making school boards and staff liable for incidents of bullying, Carleton University psychology professor Dr. Tina Daniels said.
“It will be interesting to see where the responsibility is perceived to fall,” she said.
“If that’s the case,” Stanton said Monday, “and the end result is that these policies and procedures that are supposed to be in place are followed and are monitored more closely, then I think that’s a good thing.”
Stanton said her daughter, Jaclyn, suffered repeated assaults and threats at St. Isidore elementary school in 2007.
She alleges not enough was done to protect her daughter from being victimized despite several meetings and phone calls with school staff about the issue.
Bruce Feldthusen, a dean at the University of Ottawa’s law department, said there is already case law saying teachers and principals can be held responsible for students in their care, but he is unaware of any involving bullying.
“If this lawsuit were successful it would be a new, as far as I am aware, application of an established principle rather than a new principle itself ... In general there is no reason why such a case cannot succeed if the evidence of unreasonable action or failure to act is there,” he said.
The Ontario government recently passed Bill 157, which among other things requires teachers to report serious incidents, including bullying, to the school principal who is then required to contact the victims’ parents. Schools also have to notify parents of steps taken to ensure the student’s safety after such cases.
Schools are also legally required to run anti-bullying programs under the province’s Safe Schools Act, but Ontario should augment the legislation to make prevention programming a higher priority, Daniels said, adding that school boards and faculty should take a more proactive approach to prevention too.
“We’re still at the point where people are not sure how to intervene,” she said. “And it’s not going to be successful if it’s simply mandated. You need a genuine interest and concern from the adults in the schools.”
School board spokeswoman Mardi deKemp said lawyers are handling the matter and declined further comment. None of the allegations have been proven in court and the board hasn’t yet filed a statement of defence.
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08 Feb 2010, 1:10 pm
