B.C. vice principal suspended for a day after ‘aggressively pushing’ youth

A vice principal of a school in Sooke, B.C., will face a one day certificate of qualification suspension Sept. 19.

A vice principal of a school near Victoria, B.C., has had his certificate of qualification suspended for one day for shoving a visiting youth who was not authorized to be on school grounds, according to the professional regulator.

Ryan Andy Hardath Dubé was employed as a vice principal in the Sooke School District in 2024 when the incident unfolded, according to a consent resolution agreement published by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation last week.

Dubé’s conduct was called into question after he was requested to remove a youth from school premises by another staff member, the afternoon of Jan. 14.

The youth, not a student at the school and not authorized to be on school grounds, was located by Dubé on the school’s second-floor landing, being spoken to and walked towards the stairs by another vice principal.

According to the resolution agreement, Dubé engaged with the youth and “initiated inappropriate physical contact,” which included “aggressively pushing” them from behind. The outsider was then escorted off the premises by Dubé and his vice principal colleague “without further challenges.”

The school district placed Dubé on a three-day unpaid suspension, and required him to complete the course De-Escalating Hostility and review the professional standards outlined for B.C. educators.

After being called in to investigate, the commissioner noted that the vice-principal “failed to role model appropriate behaviour” when he initiated “inappropriate physical contact” during the incident.

Upon considering the mitigating factor of Dubé showing “concern for student and staff safety,” he was handed a one-day suspension of his certificate of qualification, to be carried out on Sept. 19.