Re Daniel Denis Labelle, 2025 CanLII 39411

Ontario Review Board

Re: Daniel Denis Labelle

ORB File No: 4104

Hearing held on: Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Place of hearing: Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care 500 Church Street, Penetanguishene

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

Before: Alternate Chairperson: Mr. M.D. Segal Members: Dr. K. Hand Dr. G. Kerry Ms. M. Chamberlain Mr. J. Cyr

Parties Appearing: Accused: Daniel D. Labelle Counsel: Ms. M. Perez

The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Ms. T. Newman

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. J. Armenise

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated May 1, 2025)

Introduction

1Daniel Denis Labelle, age 50, was on September 24, 2004, found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on a charge of attempted murder, contrary to the Criminal Code.

2Mr. Labelle, who is on a Detention Order with privileges up to and including hospital and ground privileges beyond the secure perimeter, escorted by staff, appeared before the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”) on April 1, 2025, at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (“hospital” or “Waypoint”) for his annual review. Mr. Labelle’s mother attended by Zoom.

3The Board had before it the following exhibits:

• Exhibit 1 – Hospital Report dated February 11, 2025
• Exhibit 2 – Neuropsychological Report dated February 6, 2025
• Exhibit 3 – Rule 13 correspondence including responses by CAMH and Ontario Shores objecting to transfer. No response was received from Royal Ottawa.

4In preliminary positions, the hospital, supported by Crown counsel, advanced a continuation of the current Disposition and voiced opposition to a Rule 13 transfer. Ms. M. Perez, Mr. Labelle’s counsel, emphasized a desire of her client to be transferred, preferably to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH”).

Index Offences

5The details of the index offence are set out in last year’s Reasons for Disposition, as follows:

“About 10:00 a.m., Mr. Bert Normandin picked up the Accused, who had been granted a pass from the Cornwall General Hospital. The nurses had earlier that morning telephoned the Accused’s mother to advise her that her son had not taken his medications for two (2) days and was agitated. After arriving at his mother’s place, on two occasions, the Accused left the residence “to get fresh air”. On the second occasion, the Accused left without wearing a coat. His mother reminded him that his pass did not allow him to be out of the house. The Accused’s mother and the Accused went out in her car. The Accused went into the store and purchased cigarettes for her. They returned home. The Accused settled on the couch, the mother was in the kitchen, and Mr. Normandin was in the living room.

The Accused went to the kitchen and offered to massage his mother’s shoulder, as he had done in the past. Within a minute after starting the massage, the Accused pulled back his mother’s chin towards his chest and she heard the clicking noise of a knife. She put up her hands to protect herself and he slashed her finger. Then he slashed the other side of her neck. She called for Mr. Normandin. He came to the kitchen and saw the Accused “pushing the knife into his mother’s neck with both hands”. Mr. Normandin pulled the Accused’s hands and the knife out, pulled the Accused off his mother and took the knife away. The Accused went to the basement. Mr. Normandin followed and told the Accused to stay there and returned to Mrs. Labelle. Before he got to her, the Accused had come upstairs with a screwdriver. Mr. Normandin seized and hid the screwdriver. He took the Accused back to the basement. The Accused came back upstairs with another screwdriver. Mr. Normandin got the second screwdriver away from the Accused and locked him out of the house. He went back to check on the Victim. The Accused broke the glass on the storm door and main door, entered the house and was going towards his mother with a knife. By this time, she had called 911 and was lying down. Mr. Normandin got the knife away from the Accused.

At about 1:30 p.m., two (2) City of Cornwall police officers arrived, entered the house and found the Victim lying on the floor in the kitchen in a large pool of blood with a laceration and a cut on her throat. The Accused was being restrained by Mr. Normandin in the kitchen. The Accused was arrested, charged with the attempted murder of his mother and transported to the police station in Cornwall, Ontario.”

Background

6Mr. Labelle’s background is set out in detail in the hospital report, parts of which are reproduced as follows:

“Mr. Labelle's personal and psychiatric history is set out in detail in the hospital report and need not be repeated. Briefly summarized, he is currently 51 years of age. He was born in Alberta and is the elder of two brothers. His parents separated in his childhood and his father passed away in 2022. As a child and adolescent, Mr. Labelle presented with persistent conduct disordered behaviour. He left school in grade 10 and later completed a college welding course. He began to use drugs and alcohol at age 13. His drug use escalated to cocaine use including by intravenous injection. Mr. Labelle became HIV positive at age 23 from intravenous drug use. Mr. Labelle has one child: a daughter born in 1995. He does not have any contact with her. It was noted at the time of last year's hearing that Mr. Labelle has regular phone contact with his mother, the victim of the index offence. At that time, she declined to meet with him in person due to still suffering trauma from the index offence.

Mr. Labelle has a criminal record spanning 1988 through 2006. It contains convictions for various property offences as well as offences for violence including robbery in 1995 and manslaughter in 2006. The latter offence derives from Mr. Labelle having asphyxiated and killed his cellmate in 2003. That offence is reported to have been committed while Mr. Labelle was sub-optimally treated and exhibiting symptoms of his major mental illness, but he was held to be criminally responsible.

As noted, Mr. Labelle had been an inpatient at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton up until the time of his 2023 disposition. His transfer resulted mainly from an incident that took place on March 11, 2023. Mr. Labelle at that time indicated he wanted to be transferred to CAMH or to Waypoint. He spoke to his doctor who advised him that this would require an ORB hearing to consider the change in disposition and recommended that Mr. Labelle speak to his lawyer. On March 11, 2023, Mr. Labelle attacked a co-patient on the unit. He punched the co-patient, who tried to get away, and continued to punch him even when the person was on the floor. There was no indication that Mr. Labelle was presenting with psychotic symptoms at the time of the attack. He reported being frustrated over losing his privileges one week prior. It is reported that the co-patient was a person who was vulnerable in the sense that he was lightweight and not very tall. He had done nothing to provoke Mr. Labelle. Mr. Labelle continued to kick the co-patient when he was on the ground. After the event, Mr. Labelle expressed to his doctor after that he engaged in the assault to ensure that he would be transferred to another hospital. At his decision and disposition hearing of April 2023, Mr. Labelle, through his counsel, joined the recommendation for his transfer to Waypoint.

Mr. Labelle was admitted to Waypoint on May 18, 2023. He had been a patient at Waypoint prior to his transfer to St. Joseph’s hospital. When at this hospital previously he had been for many years a patient on the Beausoleil unit before his transfer to the medium secure facility of St. Joseph’s.”

7Up to this past December, Mr. Labelle had a history that included many acts of aggression regarding property, verbalised aggression directed at patients and staff and sexualized behaviour including exposing himself.

8There has been an ongoing debate about diagnoses. The current diagnoses are:

Schizophrenia

Attention Deficit Disorder Hyperactivity Disorder, Combined Type

Polysubstance Dependence, in sustained remission in a controlled environment

Antisocial Personality Disorder

The Neuropsychological Assessment Report of February 6, 2024, indicates that his cognitive difficulties met diagnostic criteria for Mild Neurocognitive Disorder of Unknown Etiology. When asked about this Dr. Hudson replied that his assessment is that this diagnosis no longer applies as the patient’s cognitive functioning appears to be improving. Mr. Labelle also has current medical diagnoses of HIV and Hepatitis C.

Evidence at Hearing

9Dr. C. Hudson, the patient’s current psychiatrist since this past December, testified. Dr. Hudson indicated that he and the team did not support a transfer.

10Dr. Hudson described in the past year, under Mr. Labelle’s previous most responsible psychiatrist, Dr. Muraven, a fresh look was taken of Mr. Labelle’s diagnosis. Psychosis was identified and Mr. Labelle was started on a trial of a long-acting antipsychotic medication, paliperidone. It is now at therapeutic levels. There was a challenge of his finding of incapacity before the Consent and Capacity Board that slowed implementation of this antipsychotic medication. Once the CCB upheld incapacity, a trial of this medication at therapeutic dosing took place.

11There has been a marked improvement since December. There have been no seclusions and no acts of aggression since then. Mr. Labelle’s relationship with his family has improved. He got to meet his granddaughter for the first time, and he has plans of spending more time with his daughter and granddaughter.

12Mr. Labelle has been taking CBT for psychosis, a DBT style course, and is involved in gardening work which he very much likes.

13He is currently in the Beckwith unit but was put on a waitlist to be transferred to the less restrictive Beausoleil unit.

14The patient’s idiosyncratic behaviours are gone. Mr. Labelle has insight into the need for medication. He agreed to a pharmokinetic study that disclosed that he may be a good candidate for clozapine. Clozapine may produce further improvements in insight. Insight is now good regarding the impact of substances. Mr. Labelle has been actively engaged in physical activities that serve to relieve stress.

15There still may be some issues regarding judgment.

16Mr. Labelle has now enjoyed escorted walks on grounds. His paranoid thoughts have abated. He can now follow direction.

17Mr. Labelle is on the right track.

18He cooperates with drug screening and medication administration.

19Dr. Hudson's resistance regarding transfer to a less secure forensic hospital stems primarily from the fact that these positive changes are very recent. Dr. Hudson has also considered the serious index offence, historical factors including a history of violence and aggression, substance abuse and medication noncompliance. Mr. Labelle receives much support at Beckwith which would not be available in a less secure forensic hospital. Dr. Hudson is concerned that at a less secure forensic hospital, the patient may stop medications.

20There have been noteworthy improvements in the social, physical and leisure activity spheres. Mr. Labelle is also involved in some team sports.

21Mr. Labelle is at the C4 privilege level, the highest level of privilege available to him now. He can go off the unit for several hours by himself.

22The waitlist in CAMH’s Rule 13 response is noted as at least one year. When he was at St. Joseph's prior to a violent incident resulting in his transfer to Waypoint, he had enjoyed hundreds of indirectly supervised passes.

23He has never had a positive urine drug test at St. Joseph’s or at Waypoint. Mr. Labelle’s HIV and Hepatitis C are stable. He is followed by a hematologist.

24Mr. Labelle continues to have sleep challenges requiring sleep medication which he sometimes takes in the middle of the night.

25Mr. Labelle briefly addressed the panel. He indicated that the meeting with his granddaughter was inspiring. He wants to strengthen ties with family. He has managed to save a goodly amount of money. He is not interested in substances. He wants to integrate with family. He appreciates the positive impact of paliperidone and is grateful to the forensic team for the support they provide.

Analysis

26Mr. Labelle has enjoyed remarkable success and a turnaround on paliperidone. The positive trajectory started to appear in December and January. The changes are significant enough to warrant being put on the transfer list to Beausoleil. The panel is of the view that Mr. Labelle, in his present condition, is ready to be transferred to a less secure facility.

27Paliperidone has produced wonderful results. Mr. Labelle's mental health is much better. He is fully engaged in a healthy, responsible way in all aspects of his program. He is fully supportive of all aspects of treatment including working well with his team, accepting medication, drug screens and therapeutic treatments.

28The delay to transfer to CAMH is at least one year. If a decision on transfer is not made by this panel this year, a Rule 13 transfer is at least two years away. The panel is of view that Mr. Labelle merits a transfer now knowing that the transfer is at least a year away. It appears that Mr. Labelle will be transferred to the less restrictive Beausoleil unit before transfer to CAMH. If Mr. Labelle is ordered transferred to CAMH, and for any reason Mr. Labelle's condition deteriorates before that transfer, an early Board can be called to review the transfer. The Board is also mindful of the incentivizing aspect to include a transfer currently.

29The parties advanced that no change should be made to the current Disposition or conditions. It is plain that significant risk remains and that the current conditions are the least restrictive and least onerous in all the circumstances. The Board does, however, order a Rule 13 transfer to CAMH with the same conditions as are currently present. We wish Mr. Labelle well in the upcoming year.