Re: Travis Allan
ORB File No: 7742
Hearing held on: Friday, October 17, 2025
Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health 1001 Queen Street West, Toronto
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. J. Goldenberg Members: Dr. M.V.A. Prakash Dr. M. Mamak Ms. M. den Haan Mr. S. Duffy
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Travis Allan Counsel: Mr. D. Fin
The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. P. Darby
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. M. Feindel
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated November 25, 2025)
Introduction
On May 15, 2020, Travis Allan was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) in respect of one count of assault causing bodily harm and one count of failing to comply with a probation order, both contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (the “Criminal Code”). Mr. Allan is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the “ORB” or the "Board") dated September 12, 2024, discharging him on conditions.
On October 17, 2025, a panel of the Board convened at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (“CAMH” or the “Hospital”) to review Mr. Allan’s current Disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Allan was present for his hearing and was represented by counsel, Mr. Fin, throughout the proceedings.
Positions of the Parties
On behalf of the Hospital, Dr. Darby stated that Mr. Allan no longer poses a significant threat to the safety of the public according to the standard in Winko. He is therefore entitled to an Absolute Discharge.
Counsel for the Attorney General indicated that he would reserve his position pending questions for Dr. Darby.
Counsel for Mr. Allan supported the position of the Hospital that the threshold test for significant threat is no longer made out, and therefore Mr. Allan is entitled to an Absolute Discharge.
For the reasons that follow, the Board agrees with the position of the Hospital that Mr. Allan no longer poses a significant threat to the safety of the public and therefore an Absolute Discharge must be granted.
Index Offences
- The circumstances giving rise to the index offences are taken from last year’s Reasons, as follows:
“Assault Causing Bodily Harm:
“The victim is an employee of the City of Toronto and works at the […] Centre located at P[…] Street. The accused was attending the Centre, and is a stranger to the victim.
Shortly after 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 23, 2019, the victim was located in the lower level of the Centre, near the showers, assisting the public attending the Centre. The victim went to get the accused a second towel. While the victim was getting the second towel, the accused removed a rock the size of a softball from his bag and placed his bag down. As the victim approached, the accused suddenly and without provocation began striking the victim with the rock, about her head, arm and shoulder area, ultimately causing the victim to fall. While striking the victim the accused said, “Don’t worry; this is going to go fast.” The victim feared for her life. Security witnessed the incident, yelled at the accused to stop, causing the accused to flee the building whilst being chased by Security and members of the public who were present at the Centre. The accused proceeded to run to the nearby intersection of Queen and John, where he approached a Traffic Services Officer on scene for a collision. The accused made unprompted utterances that he just struck a woman in the head with a rock at P[…] Street, and that she needs an ambulance. The Officer, concerned with the comments made, got out of his car to speak with the accused. The accused repeated the information. ICCS footage captured the audio of the utterances.
Further officers arrived on scene, and the victim was located at P[…] Street with obvious injuries.
Breach of Probation:
On August 2, 2019, the accused attended the Quebec Court of Justice, Montreal District, Montreal Locality, and entered into a Probation Order before [the] Honourable Justice A. Duranleau-Hendrickx. The Order, related to a conviction for Sexual Assault, is in effect for a period of three years. A term of the probation includes: ‘keep the peace and be of good behaviour’.”
Mr. Allan is a 51-year-old man with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Following the NCR verdict, he was detained at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. He was transferred to CAMH in November 2021. In October 2022, Mr. Allan was transferred to the General Unit at CAMH, where he resided until his discharge to his community residence on October 2, 2023.
The Hospital Report contains detailed information about Mr. Allan’s background history. As it was entered as an Exhibit at the hearing, it is unnecessary to summarize that information in its entirety. The following information is of particular note.
Mr. Allan was hospitalized in the Vancouver General Hospital from November 10, 1993 to February 16, 1994, and was connected with the Surrey Mental Health and Substance Use Services for case management support. Mr. Allan also had two brief admissions to the St. Michael’s Hospital Emergency Department in March 2019 and then in November 2019 (roughly two weeks before the index offences).
In the early phase of Mr. Allan’s CAMH admission, Mr. Allan tended to attribute homosexual motivations to co-patients and misperceived interactions with staff and co-patients. He believed that other people were talking about him and, at times, felt targeted when co-patients walked past him in the hallways. These remaining delusional beliefs did not interfere with his daily activities.
Prior to Mr. Allan’s discharge to the community in October 2023, he participated in several programs, and he was also involved in a variety of physical activities. He attended programming in the community, including visits to Our Place, West Neighbourhood House, and Trinity Bellwoods Community Centre to use the gym. Mr. Allan began sex offender treatment in March of 2023 and reported that he found the sessions helpful.
During the 2023-2024 reporting year, Dr. Darby indicated that in his opinion, Mr. Allan would continue to participate in rehabilitative programming and be adherent to his medication even if he were to be discharged from the jurisdiction of the ORB.
Evidence at the Hearing
Dr. Darby stated that since Mr. Allan's October 2023 discharge into the community, there have been no readmissions to Hospital, no issues with compliance with treatment or medication, no positive tests for substances, and no behavioural concerns. Mr. Allan currently resides in CMHA-supported housing, but his unit is an independent unit.
Dr. Darby indicated that there were no updates since the Hospital Report was prepared in August. Mr. Allan is very independent. He keeps busy producing music videos, and he is active on social media. Mr. Allan participated well in groups, particularly those involving music, and the Hospital has had no concerns over the treatment year. In Dr. Darby's opinion, Mr. Allan greatly appreciates the life he currently lives versus when he was homeless. He is therefore highly motivated both to continue follow-up and to abstain from substance use.
In response to questions from counsel for the Attorney General, Dr. Darby stated that the findings at page 28 and 29 of the Hospital Report (that Mr. Allan is hyper vigilant and questions or mistrusts the motives of those around him) are no longer applicable. In Dr. Darby's opinion, this occurred during Mr. Allan’s hospitalization at Waypoint, and early in his hospitalization at CAMH. Mr. Allan viewed others through a suspiciousness lens. Dr. Darby has been impressed with Mr. Allan’s improvement after receiving optimal medication and abstaining from substances. He now sees zero evidence of these behaviours in the community. Mr. Allan is soft spoken and keen to please the treatment team. He has had no issues in programming, and no hostility has been reported in shared accommodations over two and a half years.
The delusional thoughts referenced at page 30 and 31 of the Hospital Report have improved, although Mr. Allan can still experience these to a lesser extent. In his current building, Mr. Allan has noisy neighbours and at times believes their behaviour is directly targeting him. The treatment team is working to reframe and challenge Mr. Allan’s beliefs. In Dr. Darby's opinion, these beliefs are not attributable to delusional beliefs from the primary psychotic illness, and Mr. Allan has not acted on these perceptions that people are acting against him deliberately. Mr. Allan has historically experienced anger issues and this is supported by the PCL-R testing which indicates a score of 24 out of 40.
Mr. Allan is content with his accommodation, he is treatment-seeking, and Dr. Darby expects that Mr. Allan will continue to follow up with CMHA if he is discharged from the jurisdiction of the ORB.
Mr. Allan's residence falls within the Humber River catchment area by one block. This does not preclude a CAMH forensic outpatient support team from continuing Mr. Allan's care until a non-forensic support system has been set up for Mr. Allan in his region. Mr. Allan is currently on a waitlist for support in the Humber catchment area.
Mr. Allan currently sees his case manager weekly and sees Dr. Darby every two weeks. This arrangement will continue as long as necessary if Mr. Allan is discharged from the jurisdiction of the ORB until a non-forensic team is in place. Dr. Darby indicated that the extent of support can drop back if Mr. Allan is doing well. Mr. Allan will continue to receive his injectable antipsychotic medication at the CAMH clinic.
In response to a question about the dilute urine samples noted at page 24 of the Hospital Report, Dr. Darby indicated that there was no suggestion that Mr. Allan interfered with the samples in any way.
In terms of comments in the Hospital Report about Mr. Allan exhibiting a superior attitude, Dr. Darby stated that Mr. Allan's presentation is now different. He recognizes that he was ill and suffering from significant substance abuse. A major motivator for Mr. Allan is that he wishes to maintain his improved lifestyle. The rage against society noted at page 30 of the Hospital Report has not been seen in recent years. Mr. Allan remains treatment-seeking, and in last year’s Reasons, it was noted that Mr. Allan was worried to lose support of the treatment team by a change in his Disposition.
Mr. Allan’s contacts are primarily online, he is not a social person, and he does not appear distressed by the fact that he has no family contact.
In response to questions from Mr. Allan's counsel, Dr. Darby reiterated that Mr. Allan has been compliant with all treatment, has been engaged, abstinent from substances, has attended programs, is high functioning in the community, has good insight about his illness, and excellent insight into the need for follow up.
In response to questions from the panel, Dr. Darby indicated that Mr. Allan’s view of women is not of concern, as Mr. Allan has no intimate relationships, and has no interest in pursuing intimate relationships. In last year’s Reasons, it was noted that in Dr. Woodside's opinion, Mr. Allan's actions and view of women were more a result of his mental illness and substance use versus paraphilia. Mr. Allan, however, has participated in individual sexual behaviours treatment even though there is no diagnosis of paraphilia.
The combination of medication and treatment has stabilized Mr. Allan’s mental illness. Mr. Allan's insight does not fluctuate, and in Dr. Darby’s opinion Mr. Allan appreciates that he has a much, much better life than he did prior to his treatment and he has no wish to return to his previous life. A panel member noted that Mr. Allan's history and PCL-R score are significantly more negative than Dr. Darby's testimony. Dr. Darby indicated that they have not repeated the PCL-R, but it is not uncommon for things to look bad, then once the mental illness is treated and no substances are consumed, antisocial conduct can look different. The treatment team and Hospital leadership are unanimous that Mr. Allan no longer meets the threshold for significant threat. This includes two other senior physicians at the Hospital, representation from the legal department, Mr. Allan's case manager, and the Clinical Director of CAMH.
No further evidence was called.
Analysis and Disposition
Dr. Darby maintained the initial position of the Hospital. Based on Dr. Darby’s evidence, at the conclusion of the hearing, counsel for the Attorney General agreed with the recommendation of the Hospital that Mr. Allan no longer presents a threat to the safety of the public.
The panel accepts the parties’ joint position and finds independently on the evidence that Mr. Allan no longer represents a significant threat to the safety of the public. Dr. Darby's evidence was clear that Mr. Allan is highly appreciative of the difference of quality of life that he has now as opposed to before he sought treatment for his illness.
The panel also accepts Dr. Darby's testimony that Mr. Allan has good insight into his illness, the need for medication, and the need to abstain from substance use. The panel also accepts his expert opinion that Mr. Allan will continue to receive follow-up care and remain engaged in the community to maintain the gains that he has made over the past few years.
As counsel for the Attorney General noted, the Hospital Report paints a more negative picture than Dr. Darby's current testimony. The panel notes, however, that although Mr. Allan continues to experience some persecutory thoughts, Dr. Darby's testimony indicates that this has subsided. In Dr. Darby’s opinion, now that Mr. Allan’s illness is optimally treated, his presentation is quite different than the historical information in the Hospital Report.
In particular, the panel notes Dr. Darby’s testimony that Mr. Allan is committed to ongoing follow-up and that Mr. Allan will be able to receive care from the CAMH team as long as necessary until a community team in the Humber River catchment area is able to provide non-forensic care for him. The Board has also considered that Mr. Allan experienced anxiety in the past over the possibility of losing care due to a less restrictive Disposition, which supports his professed commitment to continuing follow-up in the community. The panel agrees that follow-up care for Mr. Allan will be extremely important but agrees with the joint submission of the parties that on the evidence, Mr. Allan no longer presents a significant threat to the safety of the public as required under the Criminal Code and the Winko decision. He must therefore be granted an Absolute Discharge.
The panel congratulates Mr. Allan for the work that he has done to reach this state and congratulates the treatment team that helped him to get there. The panel wishes Mr. Allan luck in the future.
DATED this 25th day of November, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. M. den Haan Legal Member
__________________ Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board