National

B.C. elementary music teacher suspended after child pornography charge

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Feb, 2025 04:55 PM

A Vancouver Island school district says an elementary school teacher has been charged with accessing child pornography.

Court records show the man faces a charge for an offence alleged to have been committed last March in Central Saanich, B.C.

The Sooke School District says it has employed the teacher since 2016, and he most recently worked as a music teacher at David Cameron Elementary and Wishart Elementary before then.

However, it says "due to unrelated circumstances," the man has not been in the classroom during the 2024-2025 school year.

The district says it "took immediate action" by suspending the teacher when it learned of the charges on Feb. 5, adding that he is not authorized to teach under the Teacher Regulation Branch while the matter is under review.

The teacher is scheduled to appear in court in Victoria next month.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

RCMP still probing alleged meddling in federal elections, but offers few details

RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme says the police force has several open investigations into possible foreign interference in the last two general elections — probes that began only after the votes were counted. Duheme declined to elaborate Thursday on the number or nature of the probes, citing the integrity of the investigations, privacy concerns and public safety.

RCMP still probing alleged meddling in federal elections, but offers few details

9 years for cocaine smuggler: CBSA

The Canada Border Services Agency says a man who got caught smuggling more than 70 kilograms of cocaine into Canada through the Pacific Highway border crossing has been sentenced to nine years in prison. Gerry Crawley, a commercial driver from New Brunswick, came through the Surrey crossing in March 2021 with a tractor-trailer of products from California.

9 years for cocaine smuggler: CBSA

BC announces changes to Police Act

The province has announced changes to the Police Act that it says would strengthen oversight of local police forces and improve their governance. The legislative changes would allow B-C’s police complaints commissioner to call a public hearing earlier into misconduct investigations, and give the commissioner the authority to conduct systemic reviews into causes or contributors of police complaints.

BC announces changes to Police Act

Canadian wildfires 'entirely' drove surge in global tree loss in 2023, study says

A global forest study says Canadian wildfires last year were "entirely" to blame for a worldwide surge in tree losses. The study released by researchers at the University of Maryland on the Global Forest Watch website says tree cover loss in 2023 reached 28.3 million hectares globally, a 24 per cent jump driven by Canada's loss of 8.6 million hectares last year.

Canadian wildfires 'entirely' drove surge in global tree loss in 2023, study says

NDP MPs Charlie Angus, Carol Hughes, Rachel Blaney opt against seeking re-election

NDP MPs Carol Hughes and Rachel Blaney have joined Charlie Angus in deciding that they won't run again in the next federal election. The federal New Democrats delivered the news in a joint announcement, saying all three want more family time after years of dedicated public service.

NDP MPs Charlie Angus, Carol Hughes, Rachel Blaney opt against seeking re-election

Airstrikes on aid workers don't 'just happen,' Trudeau says after Netanyahu comments

Attacks on aid workers are not just something that happens in war, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, slamming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's defence of a deadly airstrike on aid workers in central Gaza on April 1. Canadian Army veteran Jacob Flickinger, 33, was among those killed while delivering food aid for World Central Kitchen.