Ontario Review Board
Re: Zachary Fyckes
ORB File No: 8589
Hearing held on: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Place of Hearing: Brockville Mental Health Centre
Pursuant to: Sections 672.48(1) and 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. L. Silver
Members: Dr. R. Kunjukrishnan
Dr. S. Wiseman
Mr. C. MacIntyre, KC
Ms. K. Brisson
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Zachary Fyckes
Counsel: Mr. M. Davies
Person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. J. Lehr
and Dr. S. Gulati
Attorney-General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. C. Breault
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated November 25, 2025)
Introduction
On July 8, 2024, Zachary Fyckes was found unfit to stand trial on charges of weapons dangerous, carrying a concealed weapon, and possession of a substance, all contrary to the Criminal Code.
Mr. Fyckes is currently subject to an Ontario Review Board disposition of October 31, 2024, which in finding that the accused was then unfit to stand trial, ordered that he be detained at the Secure Forensic Unit of the Brockville Mental Health Centre – member of the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (BMHC). His privileges included to enter the community of Brockville indirectly supervised and travel passes within 100 kilometres of the hospital for purposes of employment, leisure, and recreation accompanied by staff or a person approved or indirectly supervised.
The parties were invited to present their positions prior to the evidence being heard. The hospital asserts that Mr. Fyckes remains unfit to stand trial and that he is a significant threat to the safety of the public. Accordingly, the hospital submits that there be no change to Mr. Fyckes’ disposition. On behalf of the Attorney-General, Ms. Breault supports the hospital’s position. Mr. Davies, representing Mr. Fyckes, reserved his position until the evidence was heard.
Following the hearing, the Board concluded that Mr. Fyckes remains unfit to stand trial and that he continue to be detained with no change to his Disposition and terms.
Index Offences
- Last year’s reasons for disposition summarize the index offences as follows:
“On the afternoon of April 1, 2024, Brockville Police officers were called to the local McDonalds restaurant to check the well being of a male sitting in a booth.
On their arrival, they found Mr. Fyckes eating his meal. In speaking with him, they learned that he lived in Brockville with his grandmother and son. Mr. Fyckes advised that his house had been bugged with self-animated cameras. He believed a security person for the CIA was following and always watching him.
Mr. Fyckes said he had recently gone off his anti-psychotic meds, and that he no longer required medication because he had “completed the program”.
The police officer could see that Mr. Fyckes had been writing notes to his son. The letters contained many messages about nonsensical theories, his love for his son and his son’s future and Mr. Fyckes’ displeasure with government, the CIA, and the local police. There was mention of voices within the letters and of command hallucinations coming to Mr. Fyckes from the voices. Mr. Fyckes told the officers that the voices tell him to kill himself.
Mr. Fyckes was still sitting in the booth, partially on a reusable shopping bag. The officer could see a small axe inside the bag. Once the bag was removed from Mr. Fyckes’ area, he stated that his sister has a wood stove, and this was the reason he carries an axe around.
Mr. Fyckes explained that someone had broken into his house and injected poison into his foot causing him to have pain and a lump. Because of the lump, he believed he had cancer. Mr. Fyckes wanted to go home and spend the night with his son after finishing his McDonalds’ meal.
The officers informed Mr. Fyckes it would be best for him if he were to go to the hospital and get his foot looked at by a doctor. They also told him he would be apprehended under the Mental Health Act. At first, Mr. Fyckes refused to go. Other restaurant customers, including a father with a nine-year-old daughter, were nearby. Mr. Fyckes began to show resistance.
The officers’ compromised, telling Mr. Fyckes he could eat his meal before having to leave. However, in the moments that followed, Mr. Fyckes began to show more resistance and unwillingness to cooperate.
After he was given several chances to step out of the booth, but still refused, the officers tried to lead Mr. Fyckes from the booth by the arm. When the officer reached for him, Mr. Fyckes sank back into the booth. He pulled up the right side of his shirt and took out a 30-centimeter silver kitchen knife that was concealed in his waistband.
The officers distanced themselves. They issued commands for him to drop the knife. McDonalds staff and patrons were cleared out of the restaurant. Staff took shelter in the back of the kitchen. Mr. Fyckes brought the knife toward himself and appeared to try to stab himself.
The police officer deployed his conducted energy weapon, with success, partially incapacitating Mr. Fyckes. The officers repeated commands that he drop the knife. Mr. Fyckes did not comply. Despite repeated applications of the CEW, Mr. Fyckes would not let go of the knife. He appeared to be still trying to bring it toward himself. The second officer drew his baton and knocked the knife from Mr. Fyckes’ hand. The officers took physical control and handcuffed Mr. Fyckes to the front. He was taken to the Brockville General Hospital where a doctor could assess his mental health.
When Mr. Fyckes was first searched before leaving McDonalds, the police located an aluminum foil in his right pant pocket. The foil contained 5.5 grams of suspected crystal meth.
Eight days later, on April 9, 2024, the Brockville General Hospital advised the police that Mr. Fyckes was being released from their care. Shortly after, the Brockville Police officers went to the hospital. Mr. Fyckes was arrested without any issues. He was held in custody to appear at a bail hearing.”
Background:
A hospital report dated October 7, 2025 was filed as an Exhibit. It contains a description of Mr. Fyckes’ personal, psychiatric and criminal background and should be referred to for detail.
Mr. Fyckes is now 38 years of age. On April 30th, 2024, he was found unfit to stand trial and admitted to the Brockville Mental Health Centre’s Forensic Treatment Unit.
During his childhood and adolescence, Mr. Fyckes lived with his biological mother and father. He recalls there being numerous arguments between his parents over finances and alcohol. He described himself as being “angry” as a child and that he’d been sexually assaulted by a neighbour many times when he was between 8 to 10 years of age. Mr. Fyckes did not disclose this sexual assault to anybody until he was 16 or 17 years old. Mr. Fyckes relates that he experienced some bullying and he didn’t do well in school. Mr. Fyckes’ mother advises that following Mr. Fyckes being molested, he demonstrated behavioural issues.
Mr. Fyckes managed to complete his high school education when he was 27 years old and completed part of an auto program at St. Lawrence College in Cornwall. He has been variously employed during his adult life. Mr. Fyckes reports that he began hearing voices in 2017 that cause him a great deal of physical and emotional pain and trauma. Mr. Fyckes began smoking marijuana at the age of 13 and alcohol when he attended high school. He also smoked methamphetamine. He says he has used cocaine. His mother reports that her son began using intravenous drugs when he was around the age of 18. Mr. Fyckes was diagnosed with Schizophrenia in 2017-2018.
When first assessed for fitness at BMHC on May 8th, 2024, the then diagnostic impression was Schizophrenia, Amphetamine Use Disorder, and Cocaine Use Disorder. It is also noted that he sustained a head injury following a road traffic accident and Mr. Fyckes’ self-report is that he suffered brain damage from this, but he could add little more information.
A referral for a neuropsychological assessment was also made to determine his level of mental functioning and any impairments. At that time, he had only a superficial understanding of the court process and the roles of the officers of the court, and he was unable to provide an account of his charges. In June of 2024, Mr. Fyckes was experiencing auditory hallucinations.
Test results of a psychology risk assessment indicated that Mr. Fyckes’ IQ score is in the range of mild intellectual disability with lower functioning working memory and impaired visual attention. In his report of October 4, 2024, Dr. Gulati opined that Mr. Fyckes was unfit to stand trial and suffers from Schizophrenia with a co-morbid diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, likely caused by head injuries. Significantly, Dr. Gulati was of the view that Mr. Fyckes was unable to meaningfully provide instructions to his lawyer.
As a result of this assessment, Mr. Fyckes was returned to the BMHC from Court where his mental illness and fitness have been treated. It was planned that coaching and training regarding fitness along with medication adjustments would take place.
Medication adjustment has resulted in improvement in Mr. Fyckes’ ability to better respond to questions respecting his fitness. Dr. Gulati has cautioned that care must be taken in optimizing Mr. Fyckes’ medication as side effects can be amplified in persons with a head injury. His diagnoses today are Schizophrenia, ADHD by history, and Amphetamine type Substance Use Disorder.
Evidence at the Hearing
Dr. Joshua Lehr is a fifth-year resident in psychiatry under the supervision of Dr. Gulati. Dr. Lehr testified on behalf of the hospital. He and Dr. Gulati co-authored the latter portion of the hospital report of September 26th, 2025, with respect to Mr. Fyckes’ progress in the past reporting year.
Mr. Fyckes continues to suffer from symptoms of Schizophrenia in the form of hallucinations and delusions about the justice system and the courts. In early 2025, Mr. Fyckes completed two psychoeducational groups with a nurse facilitator. At that time, he could only superficially answer some of the questions relating to the court structure. He was unsure about the role of the judge. He believed that the Crown Attorney’s role was to “get me into trouble” and that the recording reporter’s role is to “keep me locked up”. He did not know what it meant to enter a plea, nor did he know what to do if he had any objections to the proceedings in court and how to instruct counsel in this regard.
Suspicions about his lawyer’s role and being paid off by an outside source and the perceived hostile role of the Crown Attorney continued through March of 2025. In April of 2025 his paranoia extended towards his own hospital care team. He continued to indicate an inability to trust a lawyer. Dr. Lehr advised that Mr. Fyckes was then receiving antipsychotic medications, Olanzapine and Seroquel.
As his psychotic symptoms were not improving measurably by May of 2025, Mr. Fyckes was given the option to take Clozapine. He rejected this, remarking that he believed it killed 1500 people in Europe, and he did not like his blood being taken. Instead, he agreed to a trial of Aripiprazole and his Olanzapine was decreased accordingly.
Notwithstanding this medication change, Mr. Fyckes continued to endorse delusions and it was the treating doctor’s view that he remained unfit. By the end of May 2025, Clozapine was discussed again; however, Mr. Fyckes walked out of the interview room.
Efforts to persuade Mr. Fyckes to take Clozapine continued. At the end of August, he agreed, only to quickly refuse the medication. His addictions’ counsellor noted that he was then also experiencing a setback in his substance use programming and he was no longer engaging with his counsellor.
Mr. Fyckes resumed taking Clozapine medication soon after, and since he was tolerating the medication, his dose was increased from 50mgs to 75mgs at the end of September. For the most part, this seemed to have little to no effect on his continuing mistrust of the legal system and of his lawyer and the court, although when Dr. Lehr last saw Mr. Fyckes on October 16th, he believed that Mr. Fyckes’ hallucinations seemed to have reduced somewhat. He expects that as Clozapine is titrated upwards in the next few months, the hospital team will then have a better idea of any improvement. It is expected that as Mr. Fyckes reaches the optimum Clozapine level, the Olanzapine will be reduced and the Seroquel will be tapered off.
On September 26th, 2025, Mr. Fyckes’ fitness to stand trial was assessed in detail by Dr. Lehr. Mr. Fyckes advised Dr. Lehr that although he had a lawyer for the Review Board hearing, he did not trust her. (Ms. Beaubien was his then counsel)
Since then, Mr. Davies has become Mr. Fyckes’ lawyer. Mr. Fyckes has thought about representing himself because he feels that the system has been corrupted by a foreign entity and that his own lawyer had been corrupted.
In discussing the alleged offences with him, Mr. Fyckes reported to Dr. Lehr that he had been “set up and framed” and that “they poisoned me and gave me a toxin”. He was unsure about the role of the judge and that he was “hopefully to not be corrupt, I’m not too sure what to think. I know there were trillions of dollars involved, and corporations”. Mr. Fyckes recalled that he was facing three or four charges and was aware of the charges of possession of a weapon and possession of a substance. He did not know the meaning of an oath or perjury.
Since September 26th, Dr. Lehr has met weekly with Mr. Fyckes to assess him. The last time he met with him was on October 16th, five days before today’s hearing. On these weekly visits, Dr. Lehr found no change in Mr. Fyckes’ presentation and Dr. Lehr continued to opine that he is unfit to stand trial.
Dr. Lehr was reminded by the Board that the Board must make a finding of fitness as at the time of Mr. Fyckes hearing. Notwithstanding that Dr. Lehr’s last assessment with Mr. Fyckes took place on October 16th, he testified today that given his experience with Mr. Fyckes over a number of assessments, he does not believe that there would be no change in his fitness level since October 16th.
Dr. Lehr notes that Mr. Fyckes’ distrust of lawyers is a general one; it is broader than any one individual lawyer who has represented him.
Dr. Lehr indicated there is little consistency in Mr. Fyckes’ answers regarding fitness. At times, he will seem to grasp some of the simpler concepts such as the roles of the court participants, and at other times, he does not. Mr. Fyckes has never had an instance where he could answer correctly all the basic Taylor test questions.
Sometimes Mr. Fyckes would, for example, give a correct answer about the role of a judge, but as the conversation proceeds, it becomes dominated by delusions of the judge being influenced or corrupted by other sources. Conversations with him ultimately become derailed by the delusional content.
Dr. Lehr testified that in addition to the psychotic symptoms afflicting Mr. Fyckes, he has some cognitive deficits and a limited attention span. Both his mental illness and the cognitive impairments hamper his progress towards fitness.
The hospital report indicates that Mr. Fyckes’ insight into his illness is relatively poor. It states “He is able to identify that he experiences auditory hallucinations related to his illness. At times, he is also able to identify that he experiences paranoia and difficulty trusting people due to his illness. However, he is often unable to recognize that his paranoia, especially related to the justice system is due to his mental illness. His judgment also continues to be impaired, though, seems to have improved somewhat recently with respect to beginning to adhere to the Clozapine medication. His likely recent abuse of Bupropion showed poor judgement”. (On two occasions, July 22, August 1, and August 5, 2025, his urine drug screens tested positive for Bupropion. He had not been prescribed this medication, and he denied taking it.)
In responding to questions from Mr. Davies, Dr. Lehr affirmed that Mr. Fyckes is now on B-3 South Unit. This is a rehabilitation unit with more access to his level three privileges. Currently, Mr. Fyckes is utilizing community access with supervision and the hospital team is now beginning the process of introducing him to the community on an indirectly supervised basis.
Dr. Lehr confirms that Mr. Fyckes has always been compliant with keeping his time on his privileges and he understand the rules of the hospital.
Although he is currently considered treatment capable, Dr. Lehr testified that he is only marginally capable, and assessing his treatment capabilities on a day to day basis is an ongoing process.
Dr. Lehr confirmed that often Mr. Fyckes recognizes that he has difficulty with paranoid thoughts and trusting others, and that it is related to his mental illness. Usually, the hospital team can talk to Mr. Fyckes about this. Often, his delusions are interfering with their discussion, however, the hospital team tries to work around this with him.
Mr. Davies called Mr. Fyckes’ sister as a witness. Ann Fyckes is a registered nurse at the Secure Treatment Centre of the Brockville Mental Health Centre. She indicates that she has never inserted herself into the hospital’s treatment of Mr. Fyckes, being aware that she is an employee of the hospital, and it might place her in an awkward position if she had occasion to question or challenge the hospital’s treatment approach with her brother.
Nonetheless, she was prepared to testify today. Ms. Fyckes points out that prior to the index offence, her brother had been diagnosed with schizophrenia yet managed to function in the community for four years while on medications. She administered his long-acting injection of Invega Sustenna. He was also taking oral Olanzapine and Seroquel as a PRN adjunct.
Ms. Fyckes also notes that her brother has previously been involved with the legal system during his efforts to secure custody of his 11-year-old son. This was accomplished with the help and support of the Children’s Aid Society as well as Mr. Fyckes’ crisis workers. She explained that despite his diagnosis of schizophrenia, her brother accepted the information provided from these sources and followed the steps needed to ultimately secure custody of his son who is now living with their mother.
Ms. Fyckes also emphasizes that her brother had been working as a labourer in the community for some four years prior to the index offence.
Ms. Fyckes’ main concern is that she and her mother have given their consent to the hospital to speak to them about any help that they can offer and about his treatment progress, yet the hospital has never approached them for this.
Ms. Fyckes suggests that when Clozapine was first discussed with her brother in late-2024, he did not receive this until August of 2025 after refusing it a number of times. Implicit in her concerns is the suggestion that perhaps her brother was not capable of making that decision himself and that a substitute decision-maker should have been appointed. Had that occurred, then perhaps Clozapine could have been administered earlier than it was. She further stated that her brother was ultimately persuaded to take Clozapine medication and he eventually understood that he needed it; he listens to feedback from her
Ms. Fyckes acknowledges that her brother has a fear of needles and this has been a long-standing concern with his accepting intramuscular medication or providing blood samples. Ms. Fyckes testified that she thinks her brother’s mental state is worse now than it has ever been. He seems to be more distracted and disorganized than ever.
Evidence provided by Ms. Fyckes contrasts with the history provided by her brother who related that he had not been on medication for some months prior to the index offences. Ms. Fyckes states that she was personally providing the injections of Invega Sustenna which he was to receive weekly, however, she went on vacation at about the time that he was to receive his weekly injection and the index offences took place a week later. As he was effectively without medication, she said her brother would return to substances (at the time of his arrest, the police seized some crystal-methamphetamine).
Submissions
In their submissions, the hospital maintained its position that Mr. Fyckes remains unfit to stand trial and should continue on his current detention disposition with no change in the terms and conditions. Ms. Breault, the Crown Attorney, supports the hospital’s position. She submits that it is clear that Mr. Fyckes does not recognize the roles that the officers of the court play and that test is the main fitness concern.
Mr. Davies suggests that as Mr. Fyckes has the apparent capacity to handle his privileges and to accept treatment, then perhaps the Board should find that he has the capacity to handle a trial. Mr. Davies asserts that the issue is not whether he can trust his defence counsel or other officers of the court, but whether he can advance a defence given his capacity to do other things.
Mr. Davies also agrees with the terms of the detention order and submits that the Board should include a direction in the detention order that the hospital meet with the family to obtain whatever information that it can provide to assist with Mr. Fyckes’ treatment.
Decision
Based on the evidence provided by Dr. Lehr and as contained in the hospital report, the Review Board finds that Mr. Fyckes remains unfit to stand trial and that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a continuation of his detention at the Brockville Mental Health Centre with no change in the terms and conditions.
Mr. Fyckes’ path to fitness is hampered by the delusional symptoms of Schizophrenia which affect his understanding of the roles of the officers of the court, in particular, his lawyer and the judge. He has consistently indicated that lawyers who would represent him and judges who would try him and the Crown Attorneys cannot be trusted and that they are corrupted against his interests. It was observed at his assessments on September 25th and on the 26th, that he did not know the meaning of an oath or what perjury meant. The evidence supports that his answers over time on basic Taylor test knowledge questions would fluctuate. Dr. Lehr has indicated that Mr. Fyckes has never been able to correctly answer all basic questions in any one session. Furthermore, on occasion he can provide an answer reasonably well, yet be unable to repeat that success later.
Even when Mr. Fyckes would provide a correct answer regarding the roles of, e.g. a judge, his conversation would ultimately become dominated by delusions and doubts about the corrupt forces that could influence the judge against him.
Although Mr. Fyckes’ ability to respond correctly to questions probing his fitness is dominated by delusions flowing from his diagnosis of Schizophrenia, a further significant obstacle to gaining fitness is his compromised ability to learn and absorb teachings on fitness due to his cognitive deficits.
The psychological risk assessment conducted on June 12th, 2024, involved the administration of a number of standardized tests. The assessment results indicated that Mr. Fyckes’ full-scale IQ is in the extremely low range, being a mild intellectual disability. His working memory is at lower functioning level. His visual attention is very impaired. His memory was extremely poor for visually spatial information. The psychologist posits that Mr. Fyckes might suffer from ADHD.
Over the course of the past reporting year the hospital has provided Mr. Fyckes with education and instruction to try to bring him to fitness. The hospital has also adjusted Mr. Fyckes’ medication and there is promise that Clozapine, as it becomes titrated upwards, will improve Mr. Fyckes’ fitness and insight. He has been attending groups and working positively in these groups. Audio visual aids have been utilized to improve his fitness.
The hospital’s continuing plan is to optimize the Clozapine medication to deal with his treatment resistant Schizophrenia. It is hoped that this will reduce his paranoia of the justice system. The hospital continues to teach Mr. Fyckes, engage with him and use verbal, written and visual aids to move him towards fitness. He is not yet at a therapeutic dose of Clozapine and it may be two to three months before this will take place.
Additionally, the hospital will continue to provide treatment for Mr. Fyckes’ substance abuse. Mr. Fyckes is to be commended that this has not been an issue at all since being admitted to hospital. He has been free of substances and except for the non-prescribed use of Bupropion which he denies using, his substance use appears to be under control, primarily his control. The hospital still has some concerns about some disengagement from his addiction counsellor. Further substance use education will continue.
Notwithstanding the assertions by Ms. Anne Fyckes about the hospital’s lack of contact with her and her mother, the Board concludes that the hospital appears to have taken the necessary measures to try to improve Mr. Fyckes’ fitness through consultation/education and medication changes, all in the face of a stubbornly resistant mental illness and challenging cognitive deficits.
An evaluation of Mr. Fyckes mental state as it progressed from the time since he was admitted to BMHC does not support a worsening trend. There is evidence of a slight reduction of hallucinations following the introduction of clozapine. His responses to basic fitness questions have slightly improved. He has been free of substances with no apparent wish to take them. At one point he had a job in the hospital. Mr. Fyckes has agreed to take clozapine after refusing it for a while. His use of his privileges is expanding. There appears, though, to be little change in his paranoia about the court officers and the legal system.
The Board also notes that at the outset of Mr. Fyckes’ admission to BMHC, Mr. Fyckes’ mother was consulted and much relevant information was received from her. She and Mr. Fyckes’ son have visited him regularly in hospital. Nonetheless, the Board accepts Ms. Fyckes’ perceived concerns about the hospital not taking advantage of the family’s knowledge about her brother and it encourages the hospital to follow up on this.
The hospital, without any opposition from the other parties, asserts that Mr. Fyckes represents a significant threat to the safety of the public. In this respect, the Board agrees with the joint submission of the parties and accepts the evidence provided by the hospital regarding risk. Mr. Fyckes’ ongoing psychotic symptoms are similar in nature to those experienced at the time of the index offence.
The hospital has concluded that “given his ongoing psychotic symptoms (including persecutory delusions about the justice system and lawyers) limited ability and coping with stress, limited attention span and cognitive deficits, he is unlikely to instruct his lawyer meaningfully to aid his defense.” The Board agrees with this position and also finds that Mr. Fyckes’ delusions about the court and the officers of the court are sufficiently profound that he would be unable to meaningfully participate in the defence of his charges at a trial.
R. vs. Bharwani 2023, ONCA 203 provides current guidance with regard to the test for fitness. Apart from the fact that Mr. Fyckes’ responses to the basic Taylor test questions such as his distorted view of the Crown Attorney’s role, or the ability to understand the meaning of an oath and perjury, Mr. Fyckes does not have a reality-based understanding of the nature and object or consequences of his court proceeding. If he perceives that his own lawyer is against his interests or that the Crown Attorney and judge are against his interests or conspiring to be against his interests, then it is not conceivable that Mr. Fyckes could conduct his defence with a reality-based understanding.
The Board therefore concludes that Mr. Fyckes remains unfit to stand trial. At the present time he is not capable of realistically instructing counsel or making decisions in his own defence at trial while his delusions continue to govern his paranoid perceptions of the court process.
DATED this 25th day of November, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Mr. C. MacIntyre, K.C. Legal Member
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Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board