Janice Blackburn

The appellant physician appealed a Superior Court order that set aside a Consent and Capacity Board decision finding the respondent incapable of consenting to medical treatment.

The Superior Court had ordered a new hearing because the respondent's current attending physician did not testify before the Board.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the appeal judge erred by deciding the case on a procedural fairness issue raised for the first time on appeal.

The Court of Appeal further found that the Board's original decision was reasonable and supported by the record, and restored the Board's finding of incapacity.

The appellants appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board denying an absolute discharge and ordering a transfer to a less secure facility.

The hospital appellant argued the Board breached procedural fairness by ordering the transfer despite its objections.

The individual appellant argued the Board unreasonably rejected his treating physician's evidence that he no longer posed a significant threat to public safety.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the hospital received adequate notice but chose not to participate, and that the Board's findings regarding the individual's diagnosis and ongoing threat to public safety were reasonable.

The appellant, who was previously found not criminally responsible for criminal harassment, appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board transferring her to a secure forensic unit and revoking her community living privileges.

She argued the Board breached natural justice due to alleged conflicts of interest of two panel members and that the decision was unreasonable.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the presumption of impartiality was not rebutted and that the Board's disposition was reasonable given the significant deterioration in the appellant's mental state and behaviour.

The appellant, who was found not criminally responsible for assault and suffers from treatment-resistant schizophrenia, appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering his continued detention at a maximum security psychiatric facility.

The appellant argued the Board should have conducted its own inquiries or ordered an independent assessment due to a lack of unanimity among his treatment team regarding his placement.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's decision was reasonable, balanced the appellant's continuing threat to public safety with his liberty interests, and reflected the least onerous and least restrictive disposition.

The appellant, who was found Not Criminally Responsible for breach of recognizance and criminal harassment, appealed the Ontario Review Board's decision to continue his conditional discharge.

He argued the finding that he posed a significant threat to public safety was unreasonable and sought an absolute discharge.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's decision reasonable and supported by evidence, including the appellant's lack of insight, refusal to take medication, and intended cannabis use, which experts testified would increase his risk of physical aggression.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Ontario Review Board that he continue to be detained at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, arguing he should be transferred to a less secure facility closer to his family.

The Board found that a transfer was premature given the appellant's ongoing threatening and sexually inappropriate behaviour.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's decision was reasonable, supported by the evidence, and owed deference.

The appellant, who was found not criminally responsible for the forcible seizure of a child and other offences, appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering his detention at a secure forensic unit.

The appellant sought an absolute or conditional discharge, or a transfer to a different facility to access a larger gay community.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's conclusion that the appellant posed a significant risk to the public was reasonable and supported by expert evidence indicating he remained untreated and unstable.

The court also upheld the Board's refusal to transfer the appellant, noting the request was premature and lacked therapeutic justification.

The appellant, found unfit to stand trial, appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board that rejected a joint submission without explicit prior notice.

The Board imposed a more restrictive disposition than proposed, citing the appellant's ongoing violent behaviour.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the Board's probing questions during the hearing provided adequate notice of its concerns regarding the joint submission, satisfying the requirements of procedural fairness.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board, arguing the Board failed to address a treatment impasse and erred in admitting an email into evidence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no evidence of a treatment impasse on the record and noting the Board's wide latitude to accept hearsay evidence.

The appellant's continued detention at a maximum secure forensic facility was deemed appropriate.

The appellant, detained in the forensic mental health system after being found not guilty by reason of insanity, appealed an Ontario Review Board disposition ordering his continued detention.

He argued the ORB erred in finding he posed a significant threat to public safety and in failing to direct the hospital regarding a sleep deprivation issue caused by hourly bed checks.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the ORB's decision was reasonably supported by evidence of the appellant's threatening behaviour and paranoia, and that the ORB's recommendation for an independent third-party opinion on the bed check issue was appropriate.

The appellant was found not criminally responsible for assault with a weapon and was detained at a secure forensic unit.

The Ontario Review Board granted a conditional discharge, concluding the appellant remained a significant threat to public safety despite the hospital's recommendation for an absolute discharge.

The appellant appealed.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding the Board's decision unreasonable as the evidence did not support a finding of significant risk to the public.

An absolute discharge was substituted.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering his detention.

The Court of Appeal found no basis to interfere with the Board's finding that the appellant posed a significant risk to the public.

While the appellant argued that a treatment impasse had been reached requiring an alternative assessment, this request was not made before the Board.

The appeal was dismissed, but the Court encouraged the Board to consider exercising its jurisdiction to address the treatment impasse at the upcoming annual review.

The appellant failed to appear for the hearing of her appeal.

The court was advised that she had gone absent without leave from the hospital and was deemed discharged under the Mental Health Act.

The appeal was dismissed as abandoned.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board following a finding that she was not criminally responsible for uttering threats and assaulting a peace officer.

The Board ordered her detained in a Secure Forensic Unit due to active, untreated persecutory delusions and a significant threat to public safety.

On appeal, the appellant and amicus curiae argued the Board relied on inadmissible hearsay and failed to impose the least onerous and least restrictive disposition.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the Board is entitled to consider hearsay evidence such as police occurrence reports, and that the hybrid detention order was necessary, appropriate, and the least onerous option given the appellant's refusal of treatment and lack of insight.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board, arguing that the Board Chair's conduct raised a reasonable apprehension of bias and that the Board failed to recognize a treatment impasse with the hospital.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the high burden for a bias claim was not met despite some disrespectful comments by the Chair.

The Court also found no treatment impasse, noting the appellant's refusal to engage with the hospital treatment team.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board transferring him from Ontario Shores to Waypoint.

The appellant conceded he represented a significant threat to public safety and required a custodial order.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's decision to transfer the appellant was reasonable, based on the correct legal test, and entitled to deference.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board that revoked his transfer to a less secure hospital and maintained him at a secure facility.

The Board's decision was based on the appellant's surprise attack on a co-patient, which changed his risk profile.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the Board's conclusion reasonably supported the revocation and that maintaining the appellant at the secure facility was the least onerous and restrictive disposition.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board, seeking an absolute discharge.

The Court of Appeal acknowledged the appellant's efforts to improve his condition but dismissed the appeal as moot because the Board had since issued a later disposition.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering his continued detention at a psychiatric hospital with privileges to live in approved community accommodation.

He argued the Board erred by refusing disclosure of materials from his original NCR hearing and by failing to order an absolute or conditional discharge.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board had no jurisdiction to review the NCR hearing's procedural fairness.

The Court also held the Board's refusal to grant a discharge was reasonable, as evidence supported the finding that the appellant continued to pose a significant risk to the community and required hospital boundaries to maintain stability.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board detaining him at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.

The appellant argued the disposition was unreasonable, that his explanations for refusing medication were ignored, and that the Board lost jurisdiction by granting an adjournment.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the disposition reasonable given the appellant's significant risk, and holding that any potential loss of jurisdiction was cured by section 672.53 of the Criminal Code.