Re Michelle Campbell, 2025 CanLII 117216

Re: Michelle Campbell

ORB File No: 7145

Hearing held on: Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Place of hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences 700 Gordon Street, Whitby

Pursuant to: Sections 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. M.D. Segal

Members: Dr. S. Nagari (via Zoom) Dr. M. Choptiany Ms. J. Greenwood Ms. C. Plyley

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Michelle Campbell Counsel: Mr. D. North

The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. J. Szabo

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated November 14, 2025)

Introduction

1. Michelle Campbell was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCR) on May 9, 2017, on a charge of second-degree murder, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (Criminal Code).

2. Ms. Campbell is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board ("ORB" or "the Board") dated September 26, 2024, discharging her on certain conditions including to reside in the community in the Durham Region.

3. On September 16, 2025, a panel of the Board convened to review the Disposition in accordance with the requirements of s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. D. North, counsel for Ms. Campbell, attended the hearing along with Ms. Campbell. A Hospital Report dated August 15, 2025, was filed as Exhibit 1 at the hearing.

4. A Victim Impact Statement dated May 13, 2020 (resubmitted July 5, 2024) was received by the Board and filed as Exhibit 2 at the hearing. The parties did not object to its admissibility but were all in agreement that it contained inadmissible content and that the Board should exercise caution as to how much weight should be attributed to it at the hearing. In this regard, this Board gave no weight to the inadmissible portions of the Victim Impact Statement. In addition to the documentary evidence, Dr. Wang, the attending psychiatrist, gave evidence at the hearing.

Issues at the Hearing

1. The issues to be determined are whether Ms. Campbell continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, as defined in section 672.5401 of the Criminal Code, and if so, the necessary and appropriate Disposition to manage that risk, having regard to the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

Positions of the Parties

1. At the outset of the hearing, the parties were canvassed as to their recommendations to the Board.
2. Ms. Szabo, on behalf of the Hospital, recommended a continuation of the existing Conditional Discharge Disposition.
3. Ms. MacDonald, on behalf of the Attorney General of Ontario, supported the continuation of a Conditional Discharge Disposition.
4. Mr. North, on behalf of Ms. Campbell conceded significant threat and supported the Hospital's recommendation.

Index Offence

1. The circumstances of the index offences are outlined in the Hospital Report and summarized in last year's reasons as follows:

"On March 22, 2016, Ms. Campbell was parked in a commercial parking lot. Her mother exited the car and walked away with the assistance of a walker. Ms. Campbell drove towards her mother at a high rate of speed causing her mother to be thrown into the air, on to the hood of the car and then on to the ground. Closed circuit television captured Ms. Campbell accelerating and reversing over her mother four times. She then exited the car, appeared to check on her mother, and then drove away".

Personal Background/Psychiatric History

1. Ms. Campbell is a 52-year-old woman born in Kingston, Jamaica and is an only child. Her grandparents raised her until she was four years old, and her father did not have much contact with her during her formative years. At age seven, her mother moved her to Toronto after she married a Canadian. Upon graduating from high school, Ms. Campbell attended York University.

2. Ms. Campbell's personal background and psychiatric history are set out in the Hospital Report filed as an exhibit and need not be repeated in these Reasons.

3. On May 9, 2017, Ms. Campbell was found NCR on the index offence of second-degree murder. The Court ordered her detained at Ontario Shores for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores or the hospital) to await her initial Disposition by the ORB. Ms. Campbell successfully transitioned from a secure forensic unit to a general forensic unit in June 2017 and eventually discharged to a 24-hour supervised community residence in February 2019.

Current Psychiatric Diagnosis

1. Ms. Campbell’s current diagnosis is Schizophrenia.

Course Since Last Disposition

1. Ms. Campbell continued to reside in independent living, in a subsidized apartment, supported by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). She meets with their housing team once per week, as well as the Forensic Outpatient Service (FOS) from the hospital. She also sees her psychiatrist, Dr. Wang every six to eight weeks.

2. Ms. Campbell was employed at both Walmart and Dollarama over the course of the last reporting year, working as a cashier and stocking shelves. In addition to her employment, she also attends religious services with two congregations and has made several friends from the congregations.

3. Ms. Campbell is incapable with respect to psychiatric treatment, and her Aunt acts as her substitute decision maker (SDM). Ms. Campbell picks up her medications weekly, and remains medication compliant. Ms. Campbell is aware she requires treatment and is agreeable to taking her medication. She is also diligent about attending for the required Clozapine monthly bloodwork.

Evidence at the Hearing

18. The Hospital's evidence was presented through the oral testimony of Dr. A. Wang in addition to the Hospital Report, filed as Exhibit 1 at the hearing.

19. Dr. Wang advised that he is Ms. Campbell's treating psychiatrist. He provided several updates since the writing of the Hospital Report.

20. Ms. Campbell has incurred a new criminal code charge for breaching her conditions not to contact her ex-husband and child, which allegedly occurred in March 2025. Dr. Wang’s evidence on this point was that this may have been the result of a misunderstanding, that Ms. Campbell believed she could contact her son. Dr. Wang was not of the view that this was related to a decompensation of Ms. Campbell, or that this allegation and charge increased her risk.

21. Dr. Wang advised that he had reviewed the messages that were sent. He advised that they were related to Ms. Campbell being able to have communication with their son. Dr. Wang advised he had reached out to the Public Guardian and Trustee, and other legal counsel that Ms. Campbell had been working with in the past and was attempting to obtain additional information about this situation.

22. Dr. Wang explained that he has since spoken with Ms. Campbell to educate her about her conditions and not to communicate with her ex-partner, Mr. Orbst. He confirmed that Ms. Campbell understands that she cannot communicate with him and has been adherent to that since incurring the new charge.

23. Ms. Campbell remains on the Durham Access to Social Housing (“DASH”) wait list for community housing in Durham, and is awaiting placement there.

24. Ms. Campbell is functioning well in the community, and lives independently, however, the team is still of the opinion that she meets the criteria for significant threat to the safety of the public as she can have lapses in judgment that present concerns for the treatment team.

25. Dr. Wang went on to give an example of a recent lapse in judgment, where Ms. Campbell purchased a car for herself, without speaking to the treatment team about how to navigate that. Dr. Wang also explained that Ms. Campbell is a very religious person, and there are some aspects of the religiosity which cross the line into illness but these are more benign and less threatening now. The team continues to be concerned that without the support Ms. Campbell has, her presentation and beliefs can shift quite quickly and that could result in a re-offence scenario like that of the index offence.

26. Dr. Wang advised that Ms. Campbell’s medication has been recently increased and she assented to the dosage increase. However, Ms. Campbell was also recently more stressed about the criminal charges which have impacted her mental state. The team will continue to work with her to build insight. These are items the treatment team will be monitoring and working closely with her over the next year in order to best support her.

27. The team hopes that Ms. Campbell will be able to move into new housing through DASH when it becomes available as her current housing situation is inadequate. There is nothing further for Ms. Campbell to do in this regard, however, she remains on the waiting list.

28. Ms. MacDonald on behalf of the Attorney General asked Dr. Wang about Ms. Campbell’s level of insight with respect to the index offence. He advised it is limited. Ms. Campbell acknowledges she was unwell, but continues to believe that it was partly her mother’s fault.

29. Ms. MacDonald also sought to clarify Dr. Wang’s evidence about Ms. Campbell’s purchase of a motor vehicle. He was asked how concerning this was for the team. Dr. Wang advised that this was “the murder weapon, so to speak”. Dr. Wang explained that the team knew Ms. Campbell had been renting cars and driving, as she was permitted to do so in her disposition. However, it came as a surprise that she had gone out and bought a car for herself, as she had not spoken to the team about doing so. In her disposition, the conditions limit her ability to drive, as Ms. Campbell is required to have an approved itinerary.

30. In response to cross-examination by Mr. North, Dr. Wang advised that Ms. Campbell was doing well managing her conditions allowing her to drive before the purchase of the vehicle and there were no concerns from the team about her driving.

31. Dr. Wang was also asked about Ms. Campbell’s breach of the conditions. Dr. Wang agreed that Ms. Campbell believed that she could have contact with her son once he turned sixteen years old. This belief on her part was not consistent with the Court order and Ms. Campbell has been unable to secure counsel to assist her with this.

32. Dr. Wang was also asked by Ms. Campbell’s Counsel regarding Ms. Campbell’s relationship with her team and he confirmed that Ms. Campbell has a good therapeutic relationship with her treatment team and him.. He confirmed that she is trusting and open with Dr. Wang.

33. In response to questions from the Board, Dr. Wang clarified that Ms. Campbell is tested regularly for her clozapine levels, however, he is not concerned about her medication compliance. Further, she has not used any cannabis for about two years.

34. Dr. Wang was also asked about the process for the hospital to approve Ms. Campbell’s itinerary when she is going to be driving. Dr. Wang explained that Ms. Campbell will list all the places she is going to go that week, and the destinations that are consistent with her schedule. If the itinerary is acceptable, the hospital approves it. The itinerary requests and approvals are done by email by the manager of the FOS and Dr. Wang is copied on the emails. Dr. Wang is monitoring the emails and Ms. Campbell’s mental state and advised he would intervene if there were a change in her mental state that would impact her driving.

Final Submissions of the Parties

35. Ms. Szabo, on behalf of the Hospital, maintained her initial recommendation to continue the current disposition of a Conditional Discharge.

36. Ms. MacDonald, on behalf of the Attorney General of Ontario, maintained her initial position to maintain the Conditional Discharge Disposition.

37. Mr. North, on behalf of Ms. Campbell, supported the recommendation of the Hospital for the continuation of the Conditional Discharge Disposition.

Conclusion and Disposition

38. Having considered all the evidence presented at the hearing, and despite the joint position of the parties, the Board finds that Ms. Campbell continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public as set out in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code. We make this finding based on the evidence of Dr. Wang and the evidence contained in the Hospital Report filed as an exhibit at the hearing, notwithstanding the joint position of the parties on significant risk.

39. Ms. Campbell's index offence is the most serious criminal offence in the Criminal Code. She has incurred a new charge of breaching her conditions for contacting her ex-spouse. She purchased a vehicle for herself without consultation with her team In addition she has a longstanding history of psychotic symptoms, and past non-compliance with her medication. She continues to have limited insight, and beliefs that may be indicative of symptoms of her underlying illness. There is concern that such beliefs have the potential to intensify and cause her to act out, as was the case at the time of the index offence.

40. Ms. Campbell had a successful year in the community. She has remained medication compliant, and continues to have a positive relationship with the FOS team. She maintains two jobs in the community and takes her antipsychotic medication on her own. The panel hopes that the treatment team will continue to review Ms. Campbell’s conditions and legal requirements with her to provide support and encourage her understanding and compliance.

41. Having carefully considered the evidence of Dr. Wang, the Hospital Report, and submissions of Counsel, the necessary and appropriate Disposition was the continuation of the existing Conditional Discharge. In reaching our decision, the Board has considered the safety of the public, Ms. Campbell's mental condition, her reintegration into society, and her other needs.

DATED this 14th day of November 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.

Ms. J. Greenwood

Legal Member

Office of the Registrar

Ontario Review Board