Akshay Sanjiv Aurora

The appellant, who was found not criminally responsible for criminal harassment and invitation to sexual touching, appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering his continued detention and transfer to a medium security hospital.

The appellant argued the Board erred in rejecting the evidence of his psychotherapist and in finding he remained a significant threat to public safety.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that it was open to the Board to prefer the considerable body of expert evidence from other witnesses, and that the Board's disposition was reasonable.

The appellant, found not criminally responsible (NCR) in 2007, appealed a decision by the Ontario Review Board (ORB) that continued his conditional discharge rather than granting an absolute discharge.

The appellant argued that the ORB's finding of a significant threat to public safety was unreasonable and that the Board misapplied the significant threat test by reversing the burden of proof.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the ORB's decision was reasonable, supported by psychiatric evidence of the appellant's ongoing symptoms and risk of re-offence, and that the Board correctly applied the "significant threat" test under the Criminal Code without reversing the burden of proof.