Court of Appeal for Ontario
Date: 2018-09-24 Docket: C65081 Judges: Doherty, Roberts and Harvison Young JJ.A.
In the Matter of: Edda Esposito
An Appeal Under Part XX.1 of the Code
Counsel:
- Anita Szigeti, for Edda Esposito
- Alex Terrana, for the Crown
- Gavin S. MacKenzie, for the Person in Charge of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Heard: September 20, 2018
On appeal against the disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated November 17, 2017.
Appeal Book Endorsement
1We would dismiss the appeal.
I: The "Absolute Discharge" Argument
2Counsel acknowledged at the hearing before the Board that she was not seeking an absolute discharge. The Board addressed the evidence, at paras. 25-26. The evidence fully justified that concession. This court has repeatedly indicated that concessions play an important role in the Board's adjudicative process. The Board is entitled to give considerable weight to those concessions.
II: The Conditional Discharge
3We are satisfied that there was no "air of reality" to the conditional discharge argument. The Board summarized the relevant considerations, at para. 26. Those considerations are fully borne out by the psychiatric evidence placed before the Board. It seems clear that the instability of the appellant's condition was a central feature of the concerns expressed by the psychiatrists. That issue was being addressed and the doctors were hopeful that progress would be made. So are we, but the appeal is dismissed.
