B.C. teacher banned for exploiting vulnerable student for 'sexual advantage'
A former Vancouver Island gym teacher has permanently lost his teaching certificate after he started an intimate relationship with a vulnerable 15-year-old student and began dating the student shortly after graduation.
Ian Alexander Stephen McKenzie taught physical education and social studies at a high school in the Sooke School District from 2007 until September 2022, when he was barred from ever again teaching in B.C.'s kindergarten to Grade 12 system, according to a consent resolution agreement with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
As part of the agreement, published Tuesday, McKenzie admits his behaviour with the student amounted to professional misconduct and agreed to the cancellation of his teaching certificate and a permanent ban on applying for reinstatement.
The student, whose gender and identity are protected in the agreement, was in McKenzie's gym class in 2007-2008, when the student was 15 years old.
"McKenzie was aware that the student was vulnerable and felt unsupported," the notice from the commissioner says, detailing how the teacher and student developed an increasingly personal and intimate relationship over the next three years.
"This relationship included sending emails and texts to the student of a personal nature; making comments to the student of a sexual nature; spending time with the student, including after school and at McKenzie's home; and engaging in long hugs and similar touching," the notice says.
"McKenzie told the student that this relationship had to be kept secret and said that they could 'officially date' when the student was 18."
Shortly after graduation, McKenzie and the former student began dating and the relationship "became sexual within months," the notice says.
Within the agreement, signed by both parties earlier this month, the commissioner wrote that McKenzie abused his position of power and trust with the student and exploited their relationship for "his own personal and sexual advantage."
McKenzie first received a teaching certificate from the B.C. College of Teachers in May 2006.
The Sooke School District encompasses 28 schools, including four secondary schools, in the municipalities of Langford, Sooke, Colwood, Metchosin, Highlands and Port Renfrew.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
New changes come into effect to handle Canadian banking complaints
New changes are coming into effect that aim to protect bank customers in the event of a scam or address other bank-related issues.
Children's doctors reporting unusual increase in walking pneumonia cases in Canada
Children's hospitals across the country are seeing an unusual increase in the number of serious and more complicated cases of walking pneumonia affecting much younger patients, according to medical experts.
B.C. landlord who evicted longtime tenant, hiked rent and re-listed unit ordered to pay $16K
A landlord from B.C.’s Lower Mainland who evicted a longtime tenant only to rent out the same unit months later for more money has been ordered to compensate him $16,480.
'One of the most talked about words of 2024': This is Collins Dictionary's word of the year
Collins Dictionary has declared 'brat' -- the album title that became a summer-living ideal -- its 2024 word of the year.
Auto theft probe leads to arrest of 59 suspects, recovery of more than 300 stolen vehicles: Toronto police
Toronto police say 59 suspects are facing a total of 300 charges in connection with an auto theft and re-vinning probe.
Canada and the U.S. share the world's longest border. Here's how the election could affect it
Spend just a few minutes at the border between Canada and the U.S. – the world's longest – and you'll see why trade is a vital lifeline.
Thieves steal 2 Warhol prints, damage others in Dutch gallery heist
Thieves blew open the door of an art gallery in the southern Netherlands and stole two works from a famous series of screen prints by American pop artist Andy Warhol and left two more badly damaged in the street as they fled the scene of the botched heist, the gallery owner said Friday.
Teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador say violence is on the rise, averaging 22 incidents per school day
School staff are being struck more often, students are fighting more frequently, and police are increasingly being called to school grounds, according to data compiled and released this week by the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association.
Bird flu spreading faster than 2023 in the EU, data shows
Bird flu has been spreading faster in the European Union this season than a milder 2023, raising concerns of a repeat of previous crises that led to the deaths of tens of millions of poultry and renewing fears that it could expand to humans.