B. Allen

The Ontario Review Board held an initial hearing to determine whether the accused, who suffered a stroke resulting in expressive aphasia, remained unfit to stand trial on charges of sexual assault and sexual interference.

The Board applied the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Bharwani to assess the accused's capacity to conduct a defence and instruct counsel.

Given the accused's inability to speak or write in English or Punjabi, and his functional illiteracy, the Board found he lacked the capacity to intelligibly communicate with counsel or the court regarding complex or nuanced decisions.

The Board concluded the accused remains unfit to stand trial and ordered his detention at the hospital with privileges to reside in approved community accommodation, subject to conditions including restricted contact with minors.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for three counts of aggravated assault.

The accused, diagnosed with schizophrenia and substance use disorders, had made significant progress over the reporting year, including maintaining employment, medication compliance, and abstinence from substances.

However, the clinical team recommended continued detention due to the risk of relapse and subsequent violence if left unsupervised.

The Board accepted the joint position of the parties, finding the accused remains a significant threat to public safety, and ordered his continued detention at the hospital with privileges up to living in approved community accommodation.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for assault.

The accused, diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, had made significant progress over the reporting year, maintaining stability in high-support community housing and complying with treatment.

The Board accepted the joint position of the parties and the evidence of the treating psychiatrist that the accused remained a significant threat to public safety but no longer required a detention order.

The Board ordered a conditional discharge with conditions including residence at the approved high-support housing.

The accused, previously found not criminally responsible for second-degree murder and aggravated assault, appeared before the Ontario Review Board for an annual review.

He sought an absolute discharge, while the Hospital and Crown sought to maintain his conditional discharge.

The Board found that despite his progress and stable housing, his core paranoid delusions remained intractable and he lacked insight into his illness.

Given his stated plan to stop taking medication and move to Jamaica if granted an absolute discharge, the Board concluded he remained a significant threat to public safety.

The conditional discharge was maintained.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for arson.

The accused sought a conditional discharge or, alternatively, expanded travel privileges to visit family locally, attend a church trip in the US, and visit Ghana for six weeks.

The Hospital and Crown opposed a conditional discharge, arguing the accused's schizoaffective disorder causes rapid decompensation requiring hospital supervision.

The Board found the accused remains a significant threat to public safety and maintained the detention order.

However, the Board granted the requested travel privileges subject to strict safeguards, including the requirement that an approved person accompany her during travel.

The accused, previously found not criminally responsible for aggravated assault, appeared before the Ontario Review Board for an annual disposition review.

The accused has schizophrenia and a substance use disorder, and continues to use cannabis despite a mandatory abstention clause.

The Board accepted the joint position that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety.

The Board ordered continued detention at the General Forensic Service at CAMH with privileges up to community living in approved accommodation.

The Board amended the reporting requirement to not less than every two weeks, but maintained the absolute abstention clause for non-medical drugs and alcohol.

The Ontario Review Board held an early hearing requested by the Hospital due to the accused's impending eviction from community housing.

The accused, previously found not criminally responsible for various offences including assault with a weapon, has diagnoses of schizophrenia, substance use disorder, and anti-social personality disorder.

Despite mental stability and no recent violence, the accused repeatedly breached housing rules, risking homelessness.

The Board found the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety.

The Board ordered detention at the Hospital on existing conditions, which include permission to live in approved community housing and an exception allowing cannabis use, while recommending intensive drug intervention and behavioural therapies.

The Ontario Review Board held a hearing to review the restriction of liberty of an accused found not criminally responsible, following his transfer to a secure forensic unit.

The transfer occurred after the accused assaulted a co-patient, triggering a Code White.

The Board found that the accused's escalating oppositional behaviour, substance use, and risk of aggression necessitated the transfer.

The Board concluded that the significant increase in the restriction of liberty was necessary, appropriate, and represented the least onerous and least restrictive measure to manage the risk to the safety of other patients and staff.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory annual hearing for an accused previously found not criminally responsible for aggravated assault.

The accused, diagnosed with schizophrenia, had a successful year in supportive housing and remained compliant with treatment.

Based on the expert evidence of his treating psychiatrist, the Board found that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety, as he would likely decompensate and pose a risk of violence if he experienced stressors or became noncompliant with medication.

The Board ordered a discharge with conditions, including a provision allowing for supervised travel to Pakistan.

The accused, previously found not criminally responsible for criminal harassment and failing to comply with court orders, was subject to a mandatory annual review by the Ontario Review Board.

The accused suffers from schizoaffective disorder and experiences erotomanic delusions, leading to stalking behaviours.

The Board found that the accused continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public due to her treatment-resistant psychotic illness and risk of decompensation without strict supervision.

The Board ordered a continuation of the current detention order at the hospital, concluding that a less restrictive disposition or reliance on the Mental Health Act would be inadequate to manage the risk.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory hearing to review the disposition of the accused, who was previously found not criminally responsible for offences including possessing a weapon and uttering threats.

The accused sought a conditional discharge, while the Hospital and Crown recommended continuing his detention order with privileges.

The Board accepted the psychiatric evidence that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety due to his bipolar disorder, history of medication non-compliance, and risk of relapse.

The Board ordered that the accused continue to be detained at the hospital with privileges up to residing in approved community accommodation, finding this to be the least onerous and least restrictive disposition necessary to protect the public.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory hearing to review the conditional discharge of an accused found not criminally responsible for mischief.

The accused, diagnosed with schizophrenia, had been living in the community and complying with his medication regimen, largely due to external support from his parents and treatment team.

The Board accepted psychiatric evidence that the accused lacked insight into his illness and would likely stop taking his medication if granted an absolute discharge, which would rapidly increase his risk of reoffending.

The Board concluded that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety and ordered that the conditional discharge remain in place.

The accused, previously found not criminally responsible for assault and uttering threats, appeared before the Ontario Review Board for an annual disposition review.

The accused had remained psychiatrically stable in the community for several years, adhered to medication, and maintained employment and pro-social activities.

The treatment team proposed ongoing monitoring by the Forensic Outpatient Service until non-forensic community supports could be established.

Applying the Winko standard, the Board found no positive evidence that the accused continued to pose a significant threat to public safety.

The Board ordered an absolute discharge.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual disposition hearing for an accused found unfit to stand trial on charges of assault causing bodily harm and mischief.

The accused, who suffers from severe treatment-resistant schizophrenia, did not attend the hearing.

The Board accepted the joint submission of the parties, finding that the accused remains unfit to stand trial, is likely permanently unfit, and continues to pose a significant threat to public safety due to a history of medication non-adherence and violent behaviour.

The Board ordered the continuation of the current detention disposition at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, which allows the accused to live in supervised community housing while ensuring strict medication compliance.

The Ontario Review Board conducted an annual review of the disposition for an accused found not criminally responsible for aggravated assault due to schizoaffective disorder.

The accused continued to experience prominent symptoms of psychosis, including auditory hallucinations, but had made progress in engaging with therapeutic programming and agreed to electro-convulsive therapy.

The Board accepted the joint submission of the parties, finding that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety, and ordered that his detention at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health be maintained with the same privileges.

The accused was found not criminally responsible for mischief, break and enter, and failing to comply with a release order.

At his initial Ontario Review Board hearing, all parties agreed he remained a significant threat to public safety and should be detained at the hospital.

The hospital recommended directly supervised community passes, while the Crown and the accused sought indirectly supervised passes.

The Board found that the accused's medication compliance, lack of recent criminal history prior to the index offences, and cooperative behaviour warranted the less restrictive option of indirectly supervised passes.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for threatening death and causing a disturbance.

The accused, diagnosed with schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder, had shown significant progress over the past year, including medication compliance and abstinence from substances.

However, due to his limited insight into his illness and the recent nature of his stability, the Board accepted the joint position of the parties and the hospital's psychiatric evidence that he remains a significant threat to public safety.

The Board ordered a continued detention order with expanded privileges, including indirectly supervised passes in the Greater Toronto Area and the potential to reside in approved community accommodation.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for various offences including assault with a weapon.

The accused had a stable clinical year and was compliant with treatment, but remained overtly psychotic with paranoid and grandiose delusional beliefs.

The Board found that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety due to his brittle mental illness and risk of medication non-adherence.

The Board ordered the continuation of his detention disposition at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, with privileges to live in approved accommodation in the community.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for second-degree murder due to paranoid schizophrenia.

The accused had been living independently in the community on a conditional discharge.

While he had made significant progress, he experienced a recent period of decompensation requiring hospitalization and had a tendency to delay reporting declines in his mental status.

The Board accepted the joint position of the parties and the treating psychiatrist's evidence, concluding that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety.

The Board ordered the continuation of the conditional discharge on the existing terms.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for aggravated assault.

The accused, who has schizophrenia, had been living in the community under a conditional discharge and recently consented to a Community Treatment Order to manage her medication and substance use.

The Board accepted the joint position of the parties and the hospital that the accused's mental state had stabilized and she had not engaged in violence since the index offence.

The Board concluded that the accused no longer poses a significant threat to public safety under s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code and ordered an absolute discharge.