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