Former TDSB trustee Howard Goodman, right, leaves court with his wife Karen and sons Alan, left, and Grant, rear, after criminal harassment charges against him were dropped, in Toronto, Ont. on Wednesday June 10, 2015.J.P. MOCZULSKI
Charges of forcible confinement and criminal harassment against former Toronto District School Board trustee Howard Goodman were dropped by the Crown on Wednesday, amid questions about what motivated the alleged victim to wait 10 months before going to the police.
Donna Quan, education director of the school board, launched a complaint against Mr. Goodman last November, accusing him of blocking her from leaving an office on Jan. 6, 2014, and of harassing her over a period of several months.
Mr. Goodman's lawyer, Mark Sandler, said the timing of the complaint raised questions about its motivation. At the time, Mr. Goodman was clashing with Ms. Quan over his efforts to make a school board renowned for obfuscation and dysfunction more accountable and transparent.
Mr. Sandler told Ontario Court of Justice that the timing of her complaint had the effect of "deflecting attention away from Ms. Quan's conduct and towards Mr. Goodman."
Around the time Ms. Quan went to the police, questions surrounding her own lack of accountability had "reached a fever pitch," Mr. Sandler told the court. Mr. Goodman was undoubtedly a "thorn in her side."
Two months before Ms. Quan went to police, she had been prepared to drop her complaint against Mr. Goodman, according to school board sources. She told members of the code of conduct and ethics committee at a meeting last Aug. 6 that she would work things out with Mr. Goodman, the sources said. "I was left with the impression she was going to let it go," said former trustee Cathy Dandy, who was at the meeting.
Two months later, however, Ms. Quan went to the police.
The provincial attorney-general's office dropped all charges against Mr. Goodman on Wednesday, declaring that his behaviour, while "overly aggressive," does not "rise to the level of criminal activity."
A visibly relieved Mr. Goodman said outside the court that he knew the charges against him were without merit.
"Our elected officials must be prepared to doggedly ask pointed questions until the information that the public is entitled to is made available," said Mr. Goodman, who was flanked by his wife, Karen, and his two sons.
"The public deserves no less," he said.
Ms. Quan said in an e-mail response on Wednesday that she brought forward concerns based on what she had experienced firsthand and on what others had reported.
"In the end, it is up to the Crown to determine the probability of a conviction and I respect their decision," her e-mail said. "Now it is time to move on."
Mr. Goodman was among a group of trustees accusing Ms. Quan of stonewalling them on several decisions made by board staff that were revealed in The Globe and Mail, including a mysterious $200,000 payment to a catering company and a now-cancelled education partnership with the Chinese government-controlled Confucius Institute.
Ms. Quan had also refused to provide trustees with a copy of her employment contract, thwarting their efforts to review her performance.
At a private board meeting last Oct. 29, trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher, a staunch ally of Ms. Quan, told the director to leave the room, breaking quorum needed to conduct the session. The Globe has reported that Ms. Quan entered the boardroom a short time later, and said to Mr. Goodman: "I'm going to get you. I'm going to sue you."
The charges against Mr. Goodman last Nov. 12 prevented him from attending a trustees' meeting, where details about a settlement with Neo City Café were on the agenda. He had been pushing Ms. Quan to disclose details about the $200,000 the school board paid Neo City as part of an out-of-court settlement.
It was Ms. Cary-Meagher who wrote to the board's conduct committee in March, 2014, asking for an investigation into Mr. Goodman.
Mr. Goodman's vindication on Wednesday came with a bonus: the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) announced on Wednesday that he has received an award for outstanding service as a trustee.
Joel Hertz, a former OPSBA director and retired criminal lawyer, was among those who nominated Mr. Goodman, who did not seek re-election last year.
"We felt he was the best trustee of the year," he said.