Ontario Review Board
Re: Daniel Cyr
ORB File No: 8385
Hearing held on: Thursday, January 16, 2025
Place of hearing: North Bay Regional Health Centre – North Bay Site
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. L. Banks via Zoom technology
Members: Dr. J. Watts
Dr. P.N. Wright
Mr. P. Capelle
Mr. J. Cyr
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Daniel Cyr
Counsel: Mr. C. Bracken
The Person in charge of Hospital: Representative: Ms. C. Condie
Counsel Mr. P. Trenker
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. M. Mazurski
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated March 20, 2025)
Introduction
On September 8, 2023, Daniel Cyr was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on a charge of aggravated assault, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (“Criminal Code”).
On Thursday, January 16, 2025, a panel of the Ontario Review Board (“the ORB” or “the Board”) convened a hearing at the North Bay Regional Health Centre (“NBRHC”)
pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada. The annual review for Daniel Cyr was held in person. Mr. Cyr was in attendance and was represented by his counsel, Mr. Chad Bracken.
Without Prejudice Position of the Parties
Mr. Trenker, on behalf of the Hospital, indicated that a continuation of the current Detention Disposition was recommended, the only change being the removal of clause 2(g) which reads:
(g) not to attend his residence at 1333 Lee Valley Road, Massey, Ontario, unless
escorted by hospital staff on a 2:1 basis; and
That recommendation was adopted by Ms. Mazurski, on behalf of the Attorney General, and Mr. Bracken on behalf of Mr. Cyr.
The hearing, therefore, proceeded by way of joint position.
Index Offences
The circumstances of the index offences are set out in last year’s Reasons for Disposition as follows:
“On May 23, 2020, Ronald Francis Farr, 57 years of age, was tilling his fields on his property located at 1350 Lee Valley Road, Massey Ontario. Farr’s parents purchased the property in 2007; Farr took over and has resided at this property since 2013. He lives with his wife, Debora Farr, and their son, Matthew Ramsay.
That afternoon, while Farr was out tilling his field in his tractor. He saw Daniel Cyr standing at the end of his driveway filming the tractor. Cyr often does this, so Farr did not find this to be out of the ordinary. While Farr was turning, he heard a “boom”, and the windshield glass came towards him, leaving a 2-2 ½ inch hole in the windshield. Farr originally thought the noise was from a pickup truck passing on Lee Valley Road. A second “boom” was heard as Ronald Farr turned to the left towards Lee Valley. This time, a hole was created in the back windshield and glass came towards Farr from behind. Farr then turned out more into the field and began heading back across the field towards his house. He heard another “boom” and the side glass window blew up. Farr then ducked down below the seat and steered the tractor towards the house. Farr called 9-1-1 and stated that someone was shooting at him.
Farr was bleeding from the cuts on the sides of his face. His injuries consisted of small cuts with glass in his cheeks, the side of his ear was cut, and he had glass in his eyes. The tractor was damaged on the front and back, on the windows, and sustained a flat tire on the left side.
A second 9-1-1 call was made by Cyr. He stated that he was in a shootout with members of the Hell’s Angels gang, “them” being the residents of 1350 Lee Valley Road, and that he shot at them. He advised the police that his gun was on the couch and that the police needed to come and arrest him. The Communications Centre remained on the line with Cyr as officers responded. While on the phone with the operator, Cyr explained that he “didn’t want this to happen” and that it was “beyond anything” he ever imagined. Cyr explained to the operator that he was worried he wouldn’t make it safely to the police station as the Hells Angels have “pretty heavy-duty weapons.” Cyr discussed corruption and how “these guys”, being the Farr family, “are part of a big terrorist ring.” He spoke about how children have been moved in trailers alongside cattle and how Russian military equipment has been snuck into the country. Further, Cyr stated that they entered his home and injected his juice with a syringe and that upon drinking some of the juice, he developed internal pains. Cyr advised that he was smoking marijuana while on the phone and that he was “full of anxiety.” He said that he was “very sorry” that he “had to do this himself” but that he had been at his “wit’s end” for quite some time.
Espanola Detachment officers and an APS officer arrived at the scene. Cyr was taken into police custody. Police entered Cyr’s residence and no persons were found inside of the residence. Officers’ observations included the following:
a. A high calibre rifle was located on the couch in the living area. The magazine was removed and bolted to the rear.
b. A soft gun case was located immediately to the right and leaning against the bathroom wall on the ground level. Upon feeling the case, police believed it contained a long gun as stated by Cyr.
c. An open green metal gun cabinet/safe was situated on the second floor.
d. A strong odour of cannabis marijuana was present within the residence.
e. A small amount of cannabis marijuana in plastic bags was seen on the table in the living area.
Cyr was transported to the Espanola Police detachment. Enroute, Cyr discussed how his life had gone to hell in 2008 when the Farr’s moved into 1350 Lee Valley Road. He talked about the dust that contains toxins and is blown onto his property and how he feels that Farr purposely stops in the field near Cyr’s driveway and sprays pesticides to kill Cyr. Further, Cyr stated he believed that the dust and toxins were the cause of some of his animals’ illnesses. He explained how he has complained to the Ministry of the Environment at length but felt as though he “got shafted” as they informed him that Farr’s actions were in accordance with normal farming practice.
On the same day, May 23, 2020, at 2019 hours, Cyr was interviewed by D/Cst. Vardon at the Espanola OPP detachment. The interview was audio-video recorded and ended at 2046 hours. During the interview, Cyr made a cautioned inculpatory statement to police. He stated that he exited his house with a .303 rifle and fired several shots at his neighbour’s tractor, trying to hit the engine, in order to stop the tractor. Cyr explained that he could not see who was in the tractor due to the dust. He stated that he had smoked marijuana that morning. Cyr admitted that he knew it was wrong to shoot but that “they” did a lot worse by spraying his land and harming wildlife.”
Current Diagnoses
Delusional Disorder,
Cannabis Use Disorder,
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, by History.
Evidence at Hearing
Dr. Gagnon gave evidence on behalf the Hospital. He has been Mr. Cyr’s treating psychiatrist for the past three years. Mr. Cyr is an in-patient and enjoys indirectly supervised passes for a few hours each day during which he will ordinarily shop or eat out.
Mr. Cyr generally interacts well with staff and follows direction on the unit.
Mr. Cyr has zero insight regarding his illness, the need for medications, or the impact of cannabis consumption on his mental state. He feels he is biding his time in hospital and simply waiting to go home. Mr. Cyr plans to smoke cannabis subsequent to his release from the ORB.
He previously showed no interest in programming. However, just a week prior to this hearing, Mr. Cyr began an illness management course. At this stage, it is too early to determine what impact it may have. Generally, Mr. Cyr needs to engage in much more programming and open up with any delusional thoughts he may be experiencing. The hope is to gain further insight as to Mr. Cyr’s mental process from his participation in these groups. Mr. Cyr needs to become more expressive for the team to obtain better insight regarding his thoughts. Fixed delusional beliefs include a friend holding bags of dirt for Mr. Cyr which contain quantities of gold taken from a property he previously owned. He also holds a fixed delusional belief that someone has obtained a master key to his home, broken in, “messed with things” and left.
Because Mr. Cyr is not forthcoming, it is difficult to determine if he is experiencing ongoing delusional beliefs. There are hints of suspiciousness, such as his preference to drink bottled, rather than tap, water in hospital.
Dr. Gagnon has no doubt that if Mr. Cyr were to reside in the community, absent any supports, he would stop his prescribed medications, decompensate, and return to the state where he was at the time of the index offence. Mr. Cyr continues to want to live in the community and believes that ORB oversight will soon end and he will be able to purchase a new home and live in Timmins.
Responding to questions from patient’s counsel, Dr. Gagnon confirmed there is no suggestion that Mr. Cyr is accessing cannabis while exercising indirectly supervised passes within the community of North Bay. He is also medication compliant, although he would prefer not to be. Mr. Cyr’s compliance is attributable to the mandated oversight of the Ontario Review Board rather than his own internal motivation. Dr. Gagnon agreed with the suggestion that his patient’s mood has been negatively impacted by living in a controlled hospital setting as contrasted to when he lived independently at a remote rural property. Responding to questions from a panel member, Dr. Gagnon indicated that an Actuarial Risk Assessment has recently been completed and that the findings confirmed the previously noted risk factors.
Neither Ms. Mazurski for the Crown nor Mr. Bracken on behalf of Mr. Cyr presented evidence.
Closing Observations
Although offered the opportunity, none of the parties chose to make closing observations.
Analysis and Decision
(a) Significant Threat
Ongoing significant threat to the safety of the public cannot be speculative. It must entail a real risk of serious physical or psychological harm arising from conduct that is both serious and criminal in nature.
In determining whether Mr. Cyr continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, the Board has carefully analyzed the evidence as it relates to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Winko, 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625.
The Board unanimously finds that Mr. Cyr continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public. In arriving at this determination, the Board considered the joint position of the parties and accepted the uncontroverted evidence of Dr. Gagnon that Mr. Cyr continues to pose a significant threat. The Board further relies on the Hospital Report and the Risk Summary contained at page 19, reproduced below, in determining that Mr. Cyr suffers from a major and persistent Delusional Disorder, previously complicated by Cannabis Use Disorder as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, by History.
Mr. Cyr suffers from a persistent delusional disorder. Although the intensity of his delusions and paranoia have likely attenuated with continued adherence to anti-psychotic medication, his paranoid belief system about his neighbours that resulted in his actions at the time of the index offence, remains present. Although Mr. Cyr has expressed regret, he has poor insight into the precipitating factors to his behaviour, and has stated that he “can’t believe he got pushed” to the point of his actions.
It has been opined that Mr. Cyr’s cannabis use likely exacerbated the symptoms of his mental illness. In light of his limited insight into the need for reliable adherence to antipsychotic medication, were he left to his own devices it would be highly likely that Mr. Cyr would discontinue treatment. His continued cannabis use absent psychopharmacological treatment, is highly likely to further precipitate a deterioration of his mental status. Without the adequate support and supervision necessary to ensure Mr. Cyr remains medication compliant and abstinent from cannabis, it is highly likely that he would engage in behaviours similar to that of the index offence.
The Board therefore accepts that absent an ORB Disposition, Mr. Cyr would likely become non-compliant with prescribed medications which would lead to decompensation, use of substances and the re-emergence of behaviours similar to those seen at the time of the index offence. We are satisfied that absent an ORB Disposition, it is likely that Mr. Cyr will cause serious physical or psychological harm to members of the public and such conduct will likely be criminal in nature.
(b) Disposition
Flowing from the Board’s finding that Mr. Cyr continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public, it must shape a Disposition for the year ahead. Its paramount consideration in doing so must be the safety of the public while also considering Mr. Cyr’s needs pursuant to s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
The necessary and appropriate Disposition for Mr. Cyr provides him as much freedom as possible without subjecting the community to a real risk of dangerous behaviour.
In considering Mr. Cyr needs, the Board was attentive to the hope that his very recent willingness to engage in programming will continue. Any inroads enabling Mr. Cyr to gain a degree of insight regarding the negative impact of cannabis use on his mental illness together with the ongoing need for psychotropic medications will constitute positive steps towards his rehabilitation and community re-integration. Although difficult at present for Mr. Cyr to accept, abstinence from substances and engagement with treatment modalities are essential to advance the likelihood that he can again reside in the community.
Conclusion
Therefore, the Board unanimously determines that the necessary and appropriate Disposition required to manage the threat Mr. Cyr poses to the safety of the public while still meeting his needs, is a continuation of his January 23rd 2024 Detention Disposition as amended on January 25th 2024, with the removal of the current clause 2(g) “not to attend his residence at 1333 Lee Valley Road, Massey, Ontario, unless escorted by hospital staff on a 2:1 basis”.
In making this Disposition, the Board carefully considered the positions and submissions of the parties and the evidence of Dr. Gagnon and is satisfied that this determination is both necessary and appropriate. The Board reviewed the provisions of s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code and carefully considered the need to protect the public from dangerous persons, Mr. Cyr’s mental condition, his reintegration into society and other needs.
DATED this 20th day of March 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Philippe Capelle
Legal Member
Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board