Court of Appeal for Ontario
Date: 2017-03-27 Docket: C62503
Judges: Doherty, Huscroft and Miller JJ.A.
In the Matter of: Austin Tippel
An Appeal Under Part XX.1 of the Code
Counsel:
- Dean Embry, for the appellant
- Rachel Young, for the respondent
- Julie Zamprogna-Ballès, for the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care, St. Joseph's Health Care London
Heard: March 24, 2017
On appeal against the disposition of the Ontario Review Board, dated July 5, 2016.
Appeal Book Endorsement
[1] This is a difficult case. The appellant's conduct, while troubling, is close to the line in terms of satisfying the "significant threat to the safety of the public" requirement.
[2] The evidence before the Board has been supplemented by fresh evidence referring to an event in December 2016. We are satisfied that the record before the Board and the fresh evidence provides a basis upon which the Board's order could be justified.
[3] The possibility of a conditional discharge was not considered by the Board or counsel. It may be that there are no terms which could make the appellant's release appropriate. It is, however, imperative that on the next review all possibilities, including a release on terms be fully addressed by the parties and the Board. We note that the appellant was at liberty on conditions for about four years (2008-2012). He apparently functioned appropriately on a conditional discharge for some time. That experience may assist in developing terms that could adequately protect the public while permitting the appellant to live in the community.
[4] The appeal is dismissed.