Court of Appeal for Ontario

Date: 2017-10-24 Docket: C62917

Judges: Laskin, Feldman and Blair JJ.A.

In the Matter of: Matthew Gibson

An Appeal Under Part XX.1 of the Code

Counsel:

• Stephen Gehl, for the appellant
• Elizabeth Teed, for the respondent

Heard: October 23, 2017

On appeal against the disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated October 16, 2016.

Appeal Book Endorsement

[1] Before his last Board hearing, Mr. Gibson was subject to a conditional discharge. At his hearing in October 2016 he sought an absolute discharge. The Board, however, held that Mr. Gibson remained a significant threat, and therefore upheld the conditional discharge.

[2] Mr. Gibson's sole ground of appeal is that the Board's disposition was unreasonable. We do not agree. The Board relied on Dr. Ferencz's opinion of Mr. Gibson's future risk, as it was entitled to do. Dr. Ferencz's opinion was that if Mr. Gibson were absolutely discharged, he would stop taking his medication and increase his use of marijuana and, as a result, would become paranoid and threatening. There was an evidentiary basis for Dr. Ferencz's opinion as, in the past, Mr. Gibson's marijuana use caused his decompensation.

[3] The Board's disposition was reasonable.

[4] The appeal is therefore dismissed.