Winnipegger's teaching certificate suspended just weeks after sexual assault charges laid — unlike past cases

The teaching certificate of a Catholic school employee has been suspended within weeks of charges of sexually assaulting a teenage student being laid against him — a change from the months it previously could take to suspend teachers. 

Changes to Manitoba's Education Administration Act, which came into effect in January, created an independent teacher commissioner. The commissioner can freeze teacher credentials during an investigation — instead of waiting for a disciplinary hearing or a court process to be complete — if it is deemed necessary to protect students from harm.

It ensures a "timely responsiveness and a process … to keep schools safe," said Bobbi Taillefer, Manitoba's first independent education commissioner. She oversees investigations and discipline of teachers, and posts discipline records on a public registry.

Ketan Badiani's case may be an early indication of how the new legislation will work. 

The 58-year-old was escorted off the St. Maurice School campus in Fort Garry on March 17, after school administrators received a complaint from a high school student regarding unprofessional behaviour by the high school math teacher.

His contract was terminated three days later, after further investigation, St. Maurice executive director Bryan Doiron previously told CBC News. 

Winnipeg police also investigated, and Badiani was arrested on April 11. 

Investigators believe the teacher gained the trust of a student in her mid-teens and forged an inappropriate relationship with her using private messaging on social media between October 2024 and March. 

He has since been charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and luring a person under 18 by telecommunication.

Records from the Manitoba teacher's registry, containing the certification status of kindergarten to Grade 12 education professionals, show Badiani's certificate was still in good standing on April 17, the day Winnipeg police publicly released information on Badiani's charges. 

It is unclear when exactly Badiani's certificate was suspended. The information is neither disclosed in the province's registry nor provided by the commissioner.

However, when CBC News reviewed the registry on May 2, Badiani's teaching certificate showed as suspended.

Taillefer can't comment directly on Badiani's case, but she said a teacher's certificate can now be suspended while her office investigates a complaint or report of professional misconduct and before a disciplinary hearing is held to determine whether the teacher is guilty.

The sole key concern for a certificate suspension lies in whether it is needed to protect students, Taillefer said. 

That authority to suspend certificates, which has only been in place since January, was first introduced in amendments to how Manitoba manages the teaching profession that were brought forward under the former Progressive Conservative government and later followed through on by the NDP, after they took office in 2023. 

"It's important for the province, frankly, to know that there are checks and balances in place to make sure that schools continue to be safe," Taillefer said.

"We have legislation that we will follow that will allow for the protection of students."

Before the creation of the commissioner, Manitoba's Education Department was responsible for suspending or cancelling a teacher's certificate.

A spokesperson for the province said in "many cases," a final decision on a teacher's certificate was only made after court proceedings finished.

In one case, a teacher's certificate wasn't cancelled until years after he was convicted of sexually touching a minor.

Taillefer's investigations are independent of Manitoba's court system, which determines whether a teacher is criminally responsible. 

The independent commissioner's investigation and a subsequent licence suspension can happen before charges are tested in court, as in Badiani's case. 

'Huge step forward'

A spokesperson for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection said putting a teacher on leave or suspending a certificate during an investigation, particularly in serious cases, "helps ensure student safety during the investigative process."

"The priority must always be to first safeguard students if there is an identified risk," the statement said. 

Peter Hamer, a survivor of sexual abuse by a teacher and co-founder of the advocacy group Stop Educator Child Exploitation, says the process of investigating a complaint of misconduct can stretch over months, and it is important to prevent an accused teacher from moving to another school and regaining access to students.

"The suspension … is a key component," Hamer said.

But so is having a mechanism in place, like the online registry, to make that information publicly available, he said.

While some might worry vindictive students could make false accusations against a teacher, Hamer said it is rare for such allegations to turn out to be a lie. 

"We're talking about a very serious accusation," he said.

Before the new protocol came into effect, Manitoba was "one of the worst provinces" in addressing teacher misconduct, Hamer said, having no independent investigative body.

But with the amendments to the legislation, the province is on track to having one of the best systems in the country, he said.

"It is a huge step forward," he said. "I was really impressed with how it worked."

There are still opportunities for improvement, he said.

For instance, the registry falls short of being entirely transparent, as it doesn't show the reason for a certificate's suspension or cancellation, unlike in other provinces — important information for parents and employers outside schools. 

Hamer would also like to see more training involving staff and students.

Staff at Manitoba schools are required to complete a mandatory training course on sexual abuse prevention that needs to be renewed every four years. 

"A lot of times, people don't know what to look for," Hamer said.

"It's so challenging these days with social media," where grooming or abuse can happen out of the public eye, and "often the student isn't aware that what's happening is going to lead to something bad." 

The student who said she was sexually assaulted by Badiani reported the teacher quicker than most survivors and victims, Hamer said. With more information provided at schools, reports could come in when a teacher's conduct starts crossing the line and ideally before students are assaulted, he said.

"We don't want victims. We want people to understand the process that a lot of sexual predators use in order to gain trust, in order to push the boundaries," Hamer said. "We owe it to the students."