Re: Joseph Pitre
ORB File No: 8391
Hearing held on: Friday, November 28, 2025
Place of Hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
Pursuant to: Sections 672.81(1) and 672.81(2.1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. R. Bigelow
Members: Dr. S. Chatterjee Dr. M. Kalia Mr. G. Beasley Ms. R. MacIntyre
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Joseph Pitre Counsel: Mr. C. Hynes
The Person in charge of Hospital: Counsel: Mr. K. Dow
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald
REASONS FOR DECISION AND DISPOSITION
(Dated: December 31, 2025)
Introduction
On September 22, 2023, Joseph Pitre was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCR) on charges of aggravated assault, possession of a weapon, and uttering threats to cause bodily harm, all contrary to the Criminal Code. He is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the Board) dated December 6, 2024 ordering that he be detained at the Forensic Program of the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (the Hospital) with privileges up to and including residence in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
By letter dated September 3, 2025 the Hospital notified the Board pursuant to section 672.56 (2)(b) of the Criminal Code that Mr. Pitre had been subject to a significant restriction of his liberty for a period exceeding seven days after he was admitted to hospital due to concerns with respect to decompensation and medication nonadherence.
On Friday, November 28, 2025, the Board convened a hearing to review Mr. Pitre’s disposition pursuant to section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code as well as to review the restriction of his liberties pursuant to section 672.81(2.1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Pitre was present at the hearing and represented by counsel, Mr. Hynes.
The issues to be determined at the hearing were firstly whether Mr. Pitre continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public as defined in section 672.5401 of the Criminal Code and, if so, what was the necessary and appropriate disposition that was also the least restrictive and least onerous taking into account the factors set out in section 672.54 of the Criminal Code and secondly to determine if both the initial and continuing restriction of his liberties were necessary and appropriate and the least onerous and least restrictive option available to the Hospital to manage risk and meet Mr. Pitre’s needs in all the circumstances.
Initial Positions of the Parties
At the commencement of the hearing the parties were requested to provide their initial without prejudice positions with respect to the issues before the Board. Counsel for the Hospital indicated that it was the position of the Hospital that Mr. Pitre continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition was a continuation of the current detention order without change. He also submitted that both the initial and continuing restriction of Mr. Pitre’s liberty was necessary and appropriate and the least onerous and least restrictive option available to the Hospital in all the circumstances.
Both Counsel for the Attorney General and Counsel for Mr. Pitre supported the Hospital recommendation both with respect to the annual review and the restriction of liberty.
Evidence at the hearing
- The evidence at the hearing consisted of the Hospital Report and the oral evidence of Dr. Wang, Mr. Pitre’s most responsible physician up to the time of his readmission to hospital.
Findings:
- For the Reasons that follow, the Board finds that Mr. Pitre continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and the necessary and appropriate disposition that is also the least onerous and least restrictive is a continuation of the current order without change. The Board also finds that both the initial and continuing restriction of Mr. Pitre’s liberty were necessary and appropriate and the least onerous and least restrictive option available to the hospital in all the circumstances.
Index Offences:
- The allegations surrounding the index charges as summarized in the last year’s reasons for disposition are as follows :
Utter Threat of Bodily Harm
The victim and the accused do not know each other.
On Wednesday, June 8, 2022, the victim went to his vehicle, which he parks in his usual parking spot. The accused was standing near the victim’s vehicle, staring at him, not speaking. The victim smiled at the accused, but it was not reciprocated.
Later that evening, in the early hours of 1 AM on Thursday, June 9, the victim was parking his vehicle in his usual parking spot. As he exited the vehicle, he heard the accused shouting from [address] (which is apartments above commercial units) “stop or I’ll shoot you, stop or I’ll shoot you.” The victim feared for his safety and went home. He then reported it to police.
The accused was located on Thursday, June 9, 2022, at his apartment on a separate Aggravated Assault charge and placed under arrest.
Aggravated Assault & Possession of a Weapon
The victim and the accused did not know each other.
On Thursday June 9, 2022, the victim was in the Babylon Money Services located in Toronto, ON]. The victim had exchanged Canadian Money for American and was sitting in her vehicle facetiming her mother, while her [four-year-old] daughter is in the backseat.
The accused walked directly towards her, opened the driver side door and started hitting her with a hammer, then dragged her out of the vehicle. The victim was pushed to the ground, and the accused started punching her while she tried to get him off of her. Both parties stood up, and the accused went after the victim trying to hit her, and then both ended up on the ground. The victim was able to get up and she rushed into the Babylon Money Services store. The accused headed off in an eastern direction.
Officers located the accused in his apartment and he was placed under arrest. A search warrant is pending for the search of his apartment for items of clothing worn by the accused during the assault.
The victim suffered many injuries including lacerations on her scalp, a cerebral edema, damaged ligaments in her left hand, nose fracture and multiple bruises and wounds on her back, legs and hands. As detailed in her Victim Impact Statement, she, her young daughter, and her mother (who watched helplessly as the attack unfolded during the FaceTime call) all suffered emotional and psychological injury as a result of the offence.
Circumstances Surrounding the Restriction of Liberty
- The Hospital Report summarizes the circumstances surrounding the restriction of Mr. Pitre’s liberty as follows:
Mr. Pitre was re-admitted to hospital on August 25, 2025, and has remained in the hospital on FCRU since that time, representing a significant restriction of his liberty. In the weeks leading up to that time, he was noted as being different from his baseline, both by the FOS team and his brother. He was much more irritable and cognitively rigid than his typical presentation. His brother, Regis, who has often noticed and reported subtle changes in Mr. Pitre’s condition, had notified the FOS team over the preceding 2 weeks that he was growing increasingly concerned about Mr. Pitre’s presentation. On Friday August 22, he expressed that he wanted Mr. Pitre to be re-admitted to the hospital for some time. He was concerned that Mr. Pitre was not taking his medications as prescribed, particularly the antipsychotic medication, and was not adhering to the rules Regis had set out for him (i.e. sleeping at a reasonable hour, not going outside in the middle of the night). He indicated that, if Mr. Pitre’s mental state did not improve, he could no longer allow Mr. Pitre to reside with him and Mr. Pitre would have nowhere to live. The team attempted to have Mr. Pitre come for an appointment with Dr. Wang on Friday August 22, but Mr. Pitre adamantly refused, stated that he did not have appointments on Fridays and would only come to the hospital for his “standing appointment” on the following Monday, August 25. He did attend on that date and was assessed by the covering psychiatrist, Dr. Pearce, who admitted him to hospital, due to the concerns noted by his brother and the FOS team. Ultimately, this admission was necessary and appropriate, as he would otherwise have been evicted from his residence without anywhere to live. This would have resulted in a substantial increase in his risk for decompensation and re-offence, due to the stress that would have caused and the high likelihood of further medication non-adherence.
Background Information Regarding the Accused:
- As of the date of the hearing Mr. Pitre was 57 years of age and was born and raised in Toronto. His parents divorced when he was 20. He has a twin brother who suffers from bipolar disorder and a younger sister. He completed grade 11 in school but then left due to developing mental health issues.
Substance Use History
- Mr. Pitre states that he started smoking marijuana at age 12 but stopped at age 16 after becoming severely intoxicated on one occasion. He also began drinking beer at age 12 and has stopped and restarted drinking alcohol over the years. He claims that he was sober for about six months prior to the index offences. He also reports that he smoked crack on one occasion and tried LSD on a few occasions when he was younger.
Legal History:
Mr. Pitre was charged with weapons dangerous in connection with an incident occurring in August 2013 and was found guilty and granted a conditional discharge and placed on probation.
Mr. Pitre has also been arrested under the Mental Health Act on several occasions.
Psychiatric History
Mr. Pitre’s first admission to hospital with respect to mental health related issues was when he was 16 and was admitted to Youthdale Treatment Centre for about 1 ½ months where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and started on lithium. He reports eight further admissions to hospital with respect to mental health related issues between the ages of 16 and 20. He also reports brief hospital admissions in 2003 and lengthier admissions in 2012 and 2013.
In 2021 he stopped taking his medication and “started hearing voices for the first time in my life”. He also began to experience visual hallucinations and began to believe that he could control the movements of people on television. He also began to notice celebrities in his neighborhood who were sending him messages and became preoccupied with people’s behaviour in and around his apartment building.
Current Diagnosis
- Mr. Pitre’s current diagnosis is Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type.
Evidence of Dr. Wang
- Dr. Wang indicated that:
He was Mr. Pitre’s outpatient psychiatrist from his discharge from hospital in March 2024 until his readmission in August 2025. Upon readmission Dr. Chuong took over his care but Dr. Wang expected to resume Mr. Pitre‘s care upon his discharge. He had reviewed the Hospital Report and adopted its contents.
By way of update, although the Hospital Report indicated that Mr. Pitre was receiving Abilify Maintena every four weeks, he was now receiving Invega Sustenna. His last dose was on September 10 and his next dose is anticipated to be on December 10.
Mr. Pitre had been quite a bit better over the last several weeks, was less irritable and using his privileges appropriately. On the whole Mr. Pitre had a reasonably stable year but his condition fluctuated. The treatment team expected that he would be discharged shortly after his next Invega Sustenna injection.
The risk assessment set out at page 29 of the Hospital Report continued to be accurate. Mr. Pitre’s insight into his illness, the importance of medication and the index offences continued to be underdeveloped and, although the treatment team believed that cognitive testing would be of assistance in his treatment, he has refused to become involved in such testing.
- In response to questions from counsel for the Attorney General Dr. Wang indicated that, although Mr. Pitre’s brother’s residence continued to be approved, the team was considering other options with respect to residence and that they would likely be looking for some form of a supervised residence.
Analysis and Conclusion, Significant Threat:
Although the issue of significant threat was not contested at the hearing, the Board nevertheless makes an independent finding that Mr. Pitre continues represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. Mr. Pitre suffers from a long-standing major mental disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder - Bipolar Type, and continues to display symptoms of that illness such as disorganized thinking and paranoid ideation. There has been some nonadherence with medication leading to instability and changes in his mental state. He lacks insight into his illness and the need for consistent treatment as well as insight into the index offences and his status under the Board. His thinking has remained rigid and the team has not been able to shift his thinking or understanding with respect to those issues.
The most recent clinical assessment of risk concludes that Mr. Pitre’s risk for violent re-offence is likely moderate although that risk is adequately managed by his being in hospital.
Absent close supervision there is a substantial likelihood of his falling away from treatment and the return of symptoms of his mental illness similar to those he experienced at the time of the index offences resulting in a substantial increase of risk of physical and/or psychological harm to members of the public.
Analysis and Conclusion, Necessary and Appropriate Disposition
The Board also finds that the evidence clearly supports the joint submission with respect to continuation of the current detention order. In order to manage his risk, Mr. Pitre clearly requires housing stability as well as close supervision to monitor compliance with medication and to note any early signs of decompensation prior to it reaching a level which would justify hospital admission under the Mental Health Act.
There is no air of reality to consideration of a conditional discharge.
Analysis and Conclusion, Restriction of Liberty
- The Board also finds that the evidence supports the joint position that both the initial and continuing restriction of Mr. Pitre’s liberty was necessary and appropriate and the only option available to the hospital in all the circumstances to protect the public and address his needs. Absent the readmission, there was a substantial likelihood that Mr. Pitre would have continued to be nonadherent with medication resulting in further deterioration in his mental state, eviction from his residence and a substantial increase in his risk. While in hospital his medication has been changed and, particularly in the last several weeks, his mental state has improved significantly such that the team is likely to discharge him shortly after receiving his next IM medication.
DATED this 31st day of December 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Robert Bigelow
Alternate Chairperson
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Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board