J. Cyr

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

The hospital recommended continued detention with amended privileges to allow community access with approved persons.

The accused, who represented himself with the assistance of amicus curiae, argued he did not have a mental illness and requested a discharge.

The Board accepted the hospital's evidence that the accused lacked insight, remained symptomatic, and would likely decompensate without supervision.

The Board concluded the accused continued to pose a significant threat to public safety and ordered his continued detention with the requested privilege amendments.

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

The hospital, supported by the Attorney General and the accused, recommended transferring the accused from a high secure program to a less restrictive facility due to his significant progress, medication compliance, and abstinence from substances.

The Board found that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety but agreed that he no longer requires high secure detention.

The Board ordered his transfer to the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care with specified privileges.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review for the accused, who was previously found unfit to stand trial on various charges.

The hospital brought a preliminary motion to withhold certain disposition information from the accused, which the Board granted, finding that disclosure would likely endanger safety or impair recovery.

The Board concluded the accused remains unfit to stand trial due to treatment-resistant schizophrenia and ordered his continued detention at the high-secure forensic program at Waypoint, noting the ongoing need for seclusion but acknowledging recent improvements.

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

The accused, diagnosed with schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder, resides in a high secure forensic unit and receives electroconvulsive therapy to manage aggression.

Accepting the uncontroverted evidence of the hospital's doctor, the Board found the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety.

The Board ordered the continuation of the existing detention disposition.

The Ontario Review Board held a mandatory annual review hearing for the accused, who was previously found not criminally responsible for uttering threats and breaching probation.

The hospital and the Crown recommended continuing his detention at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, a position the accused ultimately conceded.

Relying on the hospital report and the uncontroverted expert testimony of Dr. Mishra, the Board found that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety due to his treatment-refractory schizophrenia, acquired brain injury, and intellectual disability.

The Board ordered the continuation of the existing detention disposition.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for first-degree murder.

The accused had remained stable in a high-secure forensic facility, complying with treatment and developing insight into his bipolar disorder and substance use issues.

The Board found that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety due to his history of rapid decompensation and severe violence when unwell.

However, accepting the joint position of the parties and the uncontroverted medical evidence, the Board ordered the accused transferred to a medium-secure setting at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences with privileges including indirectly supervised community passes.

The Ontario Review Board conducted an annual review of the accused, who was previously found not criminally responsible for aggravated assault.

The Board found that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety due to his intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and history of unpredictable aggression.

While the accused is ready for community living, appropriate housing is unavailable.

The Board ordered continued detention at the high-secure forensic program but directed a prehearing conference to address the Ministry's delay in funding a specialized residential placement.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review for an accused found unfit to stand trial on an assault charge.

The accused, who suffers from schizophrenia and experiences command hallucinations, has been detained in a high-secure forensic program and kept in seclusion due to unpredictable physical aggression.

The Board found that the accused remained unfit to stand trial and ordered his continued detention at the hospital as the necessary and appropriate disposition.

Additionally, the Board ordered an independent assessment by a criminologist to provide new perspectives on managing the accused's condition and reducing his seclusion, with an early review hearing to follow.

At an annual review hearing, the Ontario Review Board considered whether the accused, who was previously found unfit to stand trial on charges including assault and uttering threats, remained unfit.

The accused has diagnoses of schizophrenia, intellectual disability, and a substance-related disorder.

The Board accepted the treating psychiatrist's evidence that the accused remained unfit due to his inability to understand his legal situation or communicate with counsel.

The Board also concluded that a continued detention order with community living privileges was the necessary and appropriate disposition to manage the accused's risk to public safety, given his history of medication non-compliance and substance use.

The Ontario Review Board conducted an annual review and a Restriction of Liberty (ROL) hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible.

The accused had her pass privileges drastically reduced by the hospital after a single relapse into substance use, and the hospital failed to provide a timely ROL notice.

The Board continued the Detention Order, finding the accused remained a significant threat to public safety, but strongly criticized the hospital for failing to provide timely notice and for automatically reducing privileges in a manner that ignored the accused's liberty interests.

The accused was found not criminally responsible for two counts of attempted murder and one count of assault after stabbing his mother and sister.

At his annual review hearing, the Ontario Review Board considered whether he remained a significant threat to public safety.

Relying on expert psychiatric evidence, the Board found that the accused's limited insight into his schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder, combined with his stated intention to stop medication if released, meant he remained a significant threat.

The Board ordered the continuation of his Detention Order at the hospital as the least onerous and least restrictive disposition.

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

The index offence involved a severe, unprovoked stabbing committed while the accused was experiencing substance-induced psychosis.

The Board found that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety due to his severe, long-standing substance use disorder and vulnerability to psychosis if he relapses.

However, noting his complete remission, full-time employment, and positive community reintegration, the Board agreed with the joint submission and expert evidence that a conditional discharge is the least onerous and least restrictive disposition necessary to protect the public.

The accused, previously found not criminally responsible for aggravated assault due to schizophrenia, was reviewed by the Ontario Review Board.

The Board proceeded in the accused's absence.

Based on the joint position of the parties and the hospital's evidence, the Board found that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety.

The Board ordered that the accused remain detained at the General Forensic Service at CAMH, with privileges up to residing in approved community accommodation, as the least onerous and least restrictive disposition.

The accused was found not criminally responsible on a charge of aggravated assault after stabbing his father.

At the initial disposition hearing before the Ontario Review Board, the hospital, Crown, and accused jointly recommended a detention order.

The Board accepted the clinical evidence that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety but is responding well to treatment.

The Board ordered the accused detained in a General Forensic Unit at Ontario Shores with specified privileges.

The Ontario Review Board conducted an annual review of the disposition for an accused found not criminally responsible for violent offences due to schizophrenia.

The Board accepted the uncontroverted expert evidence of the attending psychiatrist that the accused has made significant progress in insight and medication compliance but remains a significant threat to public safety.

The Board ordered a Conditional Discharge as the necessary and appropriate disposition.

The accused was found not criminally responsible for aggravated assault and referred to the Ontario Review Board.

The Board held an initial disposition hearing to determine if the accused posed a significant threat to public safety.

Relying on expert psychiatric evidence, the Board found that the accused's history of violence, schizophrenia, and substance use disorders rendered him a significant threat, particularly given his stated intention to resume substance use.

The Board ordered a Detention Order at the hospital with conditions including abstention from substances and a no-contact order with the victim.

The Ontario Review Board held a disposition hearing for an accused found not criminally responsible for weapons and assault offences.

The hospital recommended a Detention Order with community living provisions but opposed international travel passes sought by the accused.

The Board found the accused remained a significant threat to public safety due to his schizophrenia, lack of insight, and history of sexually inappropriate and aggressive behaviour.

The Board ordered a Detention Order with community living provisions but denied the travel passes as premature.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual hearing for an accused found unfit to stand trial on a charge of assault.

The accused suffers from schizoaffective disorder and expressive aphasia following a stroke.

The Board accepted the psychiatric evidence that the accused lacks the cognitive capacity to understand the proceedings or communicate with counsel, and is likely permanently unfit.

The Board found the accused remains a significant threat to public safety due to residual psychosis and a history of medication non-compliance.

The Board ordered the continuation of the current detention order at the hospital.

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review hearing for the accused, who was found not criminally responsible for two counts of second-degree murder and designated a high-risk offender.

The Board found that the accused continues to pose a significant threat to public safety and ordered his continued detention.

However, recognizing his clinical progress, the Board approved a joint recommendation to transfer him from a high-secure to a medium-secure forensic facility with increased privileges, including escorted community passes.

The Board dismissed the accused's request to refer his high-risk offender designation back to the Superior Court for removal, finding that his progress had not been significantly impeded by the designation and the threshold for referral was not met.

The accused, previously found NCR for violent offences including intimate partner violence, was subject to an annual review hearing before the Ontario Review Board.

The hospital and the accused sought an absolute discharge, supported by the treating psychiatrist who opined the accused's schizophrenia was in remission.

The Attorney General opposed.

The Board rejected the hospital's recommendation, finding that the accused's history of serial violence, superficial insight, and recent alcohol use in breach of his disposition demonstrated he remained a significant threat to public safety.

A conditional discharge was ordered.