OttawaMatters.com issues apology for naming former Nepean High School VP in error

OttawaMatters.com and its reporter Dani-Elle Dubé would like to formally apologize to Peter Earl Campbell, as an error was made in an article which appeared online, October 15, 2020.

The article's title, “Nepean High School: Teachers' college reveals unprofessional misconduct allegations against former vice principal involving racism, sexism, more,” is wrong.

Peter Dalton Campbell is listed as having a hearing with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT), where he faces allegations of racism, sexism and more, but Peter Dalton Campbell never taught at Nepean High School.

Peter Earl Campbell, the former Nepean High School vice principal, is not facing any kind of formal hearing for the allegations listed in that article. He has also never been disciplined by the OCT. A lawyer for Campbell has also further clarified that a complaint had been jointly filed against their client and another faculty member in the past, but the complaint was withdrawn shortly thereafter, and after an investigation, the OCDSB cleared both their client and the other faculty member of wrongdoing.

The October 15 article was published at around 8:15 p.m., and upon notice from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) about an hour later, that there were two Peter Campbells linked to the board, the article was immediately removed from OttawaMatters.com.

OttawaMatters.com and author Dubé regret ever publishing the false information about Peter Earl Campbell, as they acknowledge and apologize for the unnecessary stress it has caused him and his family, as well as the damage it has done to his reputation.

This article fell well short of the journalistic standards that OttawaMatters.com adheres to, including proper fact-checking and providing an opportunity for the subject of a story to comment prior to publication.

A subsequent article was published on October 16, where it was clarified that, while a group of former Nepean High School students had published a document naming their former vice principal, it was a different Peter Campbell facing formal allegations in front of the Ontario College of Teachers.

The article, however, did continue to hint that Peter Earl Campbell had and still faced similar allegations, which should not have been included in the story.