TORONTO — The Ontario College of Teachers has ruled that Michael Anthony Del Grande, a long-time Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee and certified teacher, committed professional misconduct during heated 2019 board meetings.The decision, issued quietly on April 8, centres on two incidents. At a September 25 Catholic Values Subcommittee meeting, Del Grande clashed with a student who objected to an anti-abortion film. The panel found he rolled his eyes, snickered, spoke in a hostile tone, told her she had been “brainwashed by the liberals,” and later raised his voice, leaving the student upset.Two months later, at a November 7 Student Achievement Committee meeting, Del Grande opposed adding gender identity, gender expression, family status and marital status to the board’s Code of Conduct. Calling the move a “slippery slope,” he suggested the board should also list bestiality, pedophilia, vampirism and other paraphilias..The College determined these actions amounted to verbal abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, disgraceful or unprofessional conduct, and conduct unbecoming a member. Del Grande has held a teaching certificate since 2002 with qualifications in history, religious education and business studies-accounting. He has also completed the College’s sexual abuse prevention program. His certificate remains in good standing pending a penalty hearing set for August 26.Del Grande served 12 years as a TCDSB trustee. The College finding is separate from earlier board sanctions over the same remarks, which were upheld by Ontario courts and rejected for appeal by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2025.The case continues to raise questions about the limits of open debate on Catholic school boards and the professional standards applied to elected trustees who hold teaching certificates.
