Janice Elaine Blackburn

The Empowerment Council and the Criminal Lawyers' Association brought motions for leave to intervene in an appeal from a decision of the Ontario Review Board.

The underlying appeal concerned whether the failure to provide resources for supportive community housing breached the appellant's rights under section 7 of the Charter, and whether the Board had remedial jurisdiction to order funding.

The court dismissed the Empowerment Council's motion, finding its proposed intervention on the Board's inquisitorial role would not assist the court.

The court granted the Criminal Lawyers' Association's motion to intervene solely on the issue of the Board's remedial Charter jurisdiction to make funding orders.

The appellant, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity for multiple murders and sexual offences in the 1970s and 1980s, appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering his continued detention at a high-security facility.

At his annual review, all parties jointly submitted that he should be transferred to a less secure facility for a 90-day independent psychiatric assessment to explore a potential move to a less secure environment.

The Board rejected the joint submission.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding the Board's decision unreasonable because it failed to adequately explain its rejection of the joint submission, misapprehended the evidence regarding the utility of the assessment, and failed to fulfill its inquisitorial duty to explore the least onerous and least restrictive disposition.

This is an appeal from an initial disposition of the Ontario Review Board (ORB) concerning an individual found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) for assault causing bodily harm and assaulting a peace officer.

The appellant challenged the ORB's finding that he posed a "significant threat to the safety of the public" and, alternatively, argued for a conditional discharge instead of a detention order.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the ORB's decision reasonable and amply supported by evidence, including expert opinions on the appellant's high risk for violent behaviour, lack of insight, and history of non-compliance with treatment.

The court affirmed that the ORB's decision to impose a detention order with community living privileges was justified, particularly for supervising housing and ensuring prompt readmission if the appellant relapsed, given his history of threatening housemates.

This is an appeal by Derek Halat from two dispositions of the Ontario Review Board (ORB), dated January 14, 2019, and April 24, 2019.

The first appeal was rendered moot by the subsequent, stricter disposition.

The appellant, diagnosed with treatment-resistant schizophrenia and substance abuse disorder, was ordered detained at Waypoint, a maximum-security facility, due to a history of violence and recent threatening behavior, including death threats against hospital staff.

The ORB found the appellant continued to present a significant threat to public safety and that his transfer to Waypoint was necessary and appropriate.

The Court of Appeal found the ORB's rationale and outcome reasonable, dismissing the appeal.

The respondent was found not criminally responsible in 2008 and held under detention orders until the Ontario Review Board granted a conditional discharge in 2019.

The hospital appealed, supported by the Crown, arguing the Board's majority reasons failed to explain how public safety would be protected given the respondent's history of rapid decompensation and recent involuntary admissions.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new hearing, finding the Board's reasons inadequate to justify the disposition.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition ordering continued detention at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.

The appellant, found not criminally responsible for criminal harassment in 2003, challenged the Board's decision to maintain his detention, arguing the Board failed to consider statutory factors regarding reintegration into society and other needs, and failed to exercise the constant vigilance required for long-term detainees with non-violent index offences.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding the Board had adequately considered all relevant factors and that the evidence reasonably supported the conclusion that the appellant remained a significant threat to public safety.

A dual status offender appealed a decision of the Ontario Review Board refusing to schedule a placement hearing to determine whether his current place of custody (a penitentiary) was inappropriate to meet his mental health needs.

The appellant argued that the Review Board was obligated to review placement as part of every disposition review, or alternatively, that the Review Board should have exercised its discretion to order a placement hearing on its own motion.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Review Board's interpretation that a significant change in circumstances is a prerequisite to scheduling a placement hearing on an offender's application, and found no error in the Review Board's refusal to schedule a hearing on its own motion.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition ordering continued detention under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code.

The appellant argued that the Board improperly conflated the risk of relapse in mental illness with the risk to public safety.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding that the evidence supported a finding of significant risk of reoffending based on the appellant's psychosis triggered by substance abuse, his history of violent behaviour, and high actuarial risk scores.

The Board properly rejected a conditional discharge, accepting expert evidence that Mental Health Act provisions would be inadequate to protect the public.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition granting a conditional discharge to an NCR accused.

The appellant sought an absolute discharge, arguing he no longer posed a significant threat to public safety.

The Board found the appellant continued to pose a significant threat and imposed conditions including psychiatric medication compliance, monthly hospital reporting, and substance abstinence.

The Court of Appeal found the Board applied the wrong legal test, conflating the possibility of decompensation with a positive finding of significant threat.

However, fresh evidence of subsequent concerning behaviour (drug use, medication non-compliance, renewed focus on the victim) warranted remission to the Board for reassessment under the correct legal standard.

The appellant appealed a December 13, 2018 Ontario Review Board disposition ordering his detention on a General Forensic Unit at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.

The appellant had been on conditional discharge and did not attend his Board hearing on December 10, 2018.

His counsel requested an adjournment without providing reasons or a timeframe.

The appellant argued the Board denied him procedural fairness by rejecting the adjournment request and proceeding in his absence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no error in the Board's discretionary decision to proceed with the hearing.

The Crown appealed a disposition order from the Ontario Review Board regarding a respondent found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for violent offences committed at a Canadian Forces recruiting centre.

The respondent was diagnosed with schizophrenia and found incapable of knowing his conduct was morally wrong.

The Board ordered detention on a secure forensic unit but granted limited indirectly supervised privileges to attend a local college for educational purposes within a two-kilometre radius of the hospital.

The Crown challenged both the indirect supervision privilege and the Board's failure to prohibit all contact with uniformed military personnel.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the Crown's appeal, finding the Board did not err in law and its disposition was reasonable.

The appellant appealed a Superior Court decision dismissing his appeal from a Consent and Capacity Board decision finding him incapable of consenting to psychiatric treatment.

The appellant, a 36-year-old man with a college diploma and prior employment, had been diagnosed with psychotic delusional disorder and was found not criminally responsible on criminal charges.

The Board found he could understand relevant information but could not appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of treatment decisions because he failed to acknowledge his mental condition.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's decision, finding no procedural unfairness, no unreasonableness in the Board's application of the legal test, and no ineffective assistance of counsel.

An appeal under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code concerning the Ontario Review Board's disposition restricting the liberty of a person in forensic custody.

The appellant, detained for 35 years following a brutal sexual assault conviction, challenged the Board's finding that he posed a continuing threat to public safety.

The appellant also raised procedural fairness concerns regarding the Board's refusal to issue a summons for surveillance tapes, withholding staff names, and declining to address Charter arguments raised only in submissions.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Board's substantive findings but struck one provision of the order regarding an independent assessment due to lack of notice to the parties.

The appellant appealed a Review Board disposition continuing his detention following a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for first degree murder.

Before the appeal was heard, the appellant died while detained.

Applying the governing discretion on abatement after death, the court held there were no special circumstances warranting continuation of the appeal.

The issues were narrow, the proposed remedy was case-specific, and no systemic or public-importance issue arose.

The appeal therefore abated and was dismissed.

The appellant appealed a disposition of the Ontario Review Board that ordered his continued detention at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care but failed to specify the terms and conditions for an independent psychiatric assessment at Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.

The Board had improperly delegated to the parties the responsibility to work out the details of the assessment.

The Court of Appeal found this constituted an error justifying intervention.

The court set aside the deficient disposition and replaced it with detailed terms for an in-patient assessment at ROH, including security measures, duration, and cost allocation to the Ontario Review Board.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Ontario Review Board that continued his detention order under Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code.

The appellant argued that the Board applied the wrong legal test and failed to meaningfully consider whether a conditional discharge would adequately protect the public.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the Board properly considered the statutory requirements, including the safety of the public and the reintegration of the accused into society, and that the Board's decision to continue the detention order was reasonable and entitled to deference.

The appellant appealed a December 13, 2017 disposition of the Ontario Review Board ordering his detention at a general forensic unit of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.

However, while under that order, the appellant escaped and was subsequently ordered detained in a secure unit by a Board disposition dated September 18, 2018.

The Court of Appeal found the appeal from the 2017 disposition to be moot, as it had been replaced by the more restrictive 2018 disposition based on changed circumstances.

The court declined to exercise its discretion to hear the appeal and dismissed it.

An appeal from an Ontario Review Board disposition ordering the continued detention of a not criminally responsible accused at Waypoint Mental Health Care.

The appellant sought an absolute discharge, alternatively a transfer to another facility, or in the further alternative, an independent psychiatric assessment.

The Court of Appeal upheld the board's finding that the appellant continues to pose a significant threat to public safety based on his extensive criminal history involving sexual violence, his psychiatric diagnoses including psychopathy, and his lack of engagement with treatment programs.

The court dismissed the appeal but directed the board to reconsider the request for an independent assessment at the next annual review.

The appellant was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder and ordered detained at Waypoint Centre, a maximum security facility.

On appeal, the appellant sought to have the detention order set aside and a new hearing directed to consider placement at Ontario Shores, a medium security facility.

The Court of Appeal upheld the Ontario Review Board's decision, finding that while the appellant's recent conduct was positive, the Board was required to consider the entire picture, including the serious nature of the mental illness, the long history of mental disorder accompanied by serious criminal activity, past non-compliance with medication, and demonstrated history of quick decompensation and violence when medication was discontinued.

The court found the Board's conclusion that a transfer to medium security was premature was not unreasonable.

The appellant appealed a decision of the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board upholding the College of Psychologists' refusal to register him for supervised practice.

The appellant held a PhD in Developmental Psychology that was not accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association.

The Board found that under the 2015 regulation, it could only consider the appellant's doctoral program itself, not his extensive subsequent clinical experience, to determine equivalency.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding the Board's interpretation of the regulation was reasonable, despite expressing concerns about the fairness of the rigid regulatory requirements.