Chisasibi teacher David Pepabano may have hit a student with a ruler and used inappropriate sexual language in class, but that doesn’t mean he should have been fired, a labour court has ruled.
Pepabano was dismissed by the Cree School Board in 1994 after complaints of misconduct and “immorality.”
Pepabano was accused of sexually touching two girls aged 12 and 14, one of whom stopped going to school and tried to take her life. He also allegely hit some students, and often used sexual language in front of students and teachers.
Two 13-year-old students said Pepabano threatened to have sex with the children’s mothers and grandmothers.
Pepabano, a Chisasibi resident, is one of the Cree School Board’s pioneers of Cree culture education.
The CEQ teachers’ union defended Pepabano and the case went to labour court. Hearings were held in Chisasibi, Radisson and Montreal between Jan. and Nov. 1995.
François Fortier, a labour arbitrator, decided in July 1996 that the Cree School Board should not have fired Pepabano and he should be taken back as a teacher.
In his decision, Fortier acknowledged that Pepabano had not acted properly in some situations. “David Pepabano used vulgar language in the class and in the school in the presence of students and teachers. I am convinced that he regularly used inappropriate language,” he ruled.
“Pepabano gave a small kick to one student to get him to leave the class.” But Fortier added: “This single incident, without any details about the circumstances and the student concerned not having been heard in this court, can not lead to any grand conclusions.”
Fortier dismissed most of the complaints, including the allegation of sexual touching. Fortier said the students may have complained about Pepabano simply because they were bored learning about the Cree culture.
The School Board refused to take Pepabano back and requested a judicial review of the arbitrator’s decision. The case is now before Quebec Superior Court. Pepabano has not been teaching while the case is in court.
