Why this P.E.I. early childhood educator wants more support for staff facing allegations

These pages of legal documents tell the story of what happened to early childhood educator Arif Chowdhury after a parent accused him of hurting their child at a daycare in Charlottetown. It led to a seven-month battle to clear his name and to get his job back that cost him nearly $60,000 in legal fees. He says he got no support or guidance from anyone in the child care system along the way, so he's decided to speak out with the hope it leads to changes. It's for the it's for the protection of other educators who have to battle a similar thing, who may not be able to protect themselves the same way, and who might be forced out of a field that already is struggling to keep staff. Last January, a parent accused Chowdhury of punching and bruising their child's arm. Chowdhury claims that didn't happen, that another kid had grabbed the child's arm and thrown a block at them, that all he did was separate the two. A government inspector who looked into the complaint ruled it inconclusive. But Charlottetown police investigated, too, and charged Chowdhury with assault. PEI's Early Learning and Child Care Board temporarily suspended his certification. Like I was. Mortified. I've never had a phone call from the police before, I've never been arrested before, I've never in my career up until that moment have had any parent complaints. But in April, that charge was stayed when, on his lawyer's advice, he signed a peace bond, an agreement not to have any contact with the parent or child for a year. At that point, the child had moved on to another center. That would mean that I could return to work. And at the time, just considering all of the legal fees we were paying at the time, it seemed like our best case. But after one day back at work, the child care board emailed Chowdhury to say they'd revoked his certification. He was fired from the daycare. The board ruled that by signing the peace bond, he acknowledged the parent and child had reasonable grounds to fear him. Chowdhury challenged that ruling with the child care appeal board and won. The appeal board ruled that signing a peace bond is not an admission of wrongdoing and that Chowdhury should get his certification back. The decision to reinstate you finally in August He did. And in September, he got a job at a before and after school care program where he's still working today. Like this could have happened a long time ago. This decision could have happened a long time ago, and it took months of legal battles and emails and waiting and waiting and waiting, financial loss, being on EI, a reputational harm that spreads around. PEI's Early Childhood Development Association says complaints against educators are on the rise across Canada and that it is looking at how it can better support them when they face allegations. A spokesperson for PEI's Department of Education in early years said that while it can't speak to specific cases, early childhood educators are treated fairly and allegations handled appropriately. It added that child care workers do have a right to unionize. Arif Chowdhury says he'd welcome a union. He thinks having one advocating for him could have made all the difference. Steve Bruce, CBC News, Charlottetown.