Re: Abokar Ahmed Ali
ORB File No: 6749
Hearing held on: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Place of hearing: Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences 700 Gordon Street, Whitby
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. G. Beasley Members: Dr. R. Kunjukrishnan (via Zoom) Dr. W. Loza Ms. C. Murray Mr. A. Bouvier
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Abokar Ahmed Ali Counsel: Mr. T. Whillier
The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. A. Marshall
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. N. MacDonald
AMENDED REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated May 27, 2025)
Please see underlined change to original reasons made June 6, 2025: “Ms. Jessica Szabo” has been replaced with “Ms. Anne Marshall” at paragraph 8.
Introduction
On April 28, 2015, Abokar Ahmed Ali was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on charges of theft exceeding $5000, criminal negligence causing death, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop at the scene of an accident, all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (the “Criminal Code”).
On April 30, 2025, a panel of the Ontario Review Board (“Board” or “panel”) convened to review Mr. Ahmed Ali’s current Disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. At the time of the hearing, Mr. Ahmed Ali was ordered detained within the Forensic Program at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (“Ontario Shores” or “the hospital”), with privileges up to and including passes for up to 12 hours to enter the community, within a 150-kilometer radius of Ontario Shores, indirectly supervised.
Mr. Ahmed Ali was present at the hearing. He was represented by counsel, Mr. Thomas Whillier, throughout the proceedings.
A Hospital Report dated March 26, 2025, was entered as Exhibit 1.
The issues to be determined are whether Mr. Ahmed Ali continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, and if so, the necessary and appropriate Disposition to manage that risk having regard to the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
For the reasons set out below and based on the evidence and opinions before us, the Board found that Mr. Ahmed Ali continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. The Board finds that a Detention Disposition within the Forensic Program of Ontario Shores is the necessary and appropriate Order having regard to the safety of the public, which is the paramount concern, and also having regard to Mr. Ahmed Ali’s mental health, reintegration into society, and his other needs.
Current Psychiatric Diagnoses
- Schizophrenia (treatment resistant)
Position of the Parties
At the commencement of the hearing, the parties were canvassed for their without prejudice positions. The hospital, represented by Ms. Anne Marshall, supported by counsel for the Attorney General, Ms. MacDonald, took the position that Mr. Ahmed Ali continues to represent a significant threat to the public and the necessary and appropriate Disposition is a continuation of the current Detention Order on the same terms as last year.
Counsel for Mr. Ahmed Ali, Mr. Whillier, conceded significant threat and agreed with the hospital’s recommendations, with a recommendation to add to his Disposition community living in supervised accommodation, approved by the person in charge.
Index Offence
- The Hospital Report contains a detailed description of the index offences. It is summarized as follows:
On August 19, 2013, Mr. Ahmed Ali hired a taxi to pick him up at a bus terminal. His instructions to the taxi driver changed as the vehicle proceeded, which caused the taxi driver concern about the legitimacy of the fare. The taxi driver pulled over and Mr. Ahmed Ali exited the taxi. When the taxi driver also exited, Mr. Ahmed Ali ran to the driver’s side of the taxi, got into the driver’s seat and drove the taxi westbound on Dixon Road, Toronto. He entered southbound onto Weston Road at a high rate of speed and collided with a stopped TTC bus. The bus driver called the police. Mr. Ahmed Ali left the scene of the accident and drove at a high rate of speed on Royal York Road where he entered the intersection of Westway/Lawrence Avenue West. He drove through the red light at the intersection and collided with two vehicles causing death of the driver of one vehicle and injuries to the occupant of the same vehicle. The occupant of another vehicle was also injured in the crash. Mr. Ahmed Ali ran from the scene of the collision and was later found by police and arrested.
Background and History
The Hospital Report contains extensive information regarding Mr. Ahmed Ali’s background and history, the entirety of which need not be repeated here in detail. However, the following particulars are noteworthy.
Mr. Ahmed Ali is a 33-year-old male who immigrated to Canada in 2008 to escape civil war in Somalia.
Mr. Ahmed Ali has no history of criminal convictions prior to the index offences.
Mr. Ahmed Ali’s psychiatric history prior to the index offences includes an admission to Trent University Wellness Centre when he was 21 years of age. He was reported to have a convincing history of attention deficit disorder with depressive symptoms that are transitory.
Mr. Ahmed Ali attended Trent University where he completed two years of a biochemistry course. He stopped his studies, attributing it to suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder.
Mr. Ahmed Ali says he uses substances. However, when asked about alcohol use, he stated, “Only the day of the accident”.
Mr. Ahmed Ali reported that he hasn’t worked since December 2012.
Course Since Last Disposition
The Hospital Report provides information regarding Mr. Ahmed Ali’s course in hospital since his last Disposition.
Mr. Ahmed Ali remains incapable to consent to treatment with antipsychotic medications. His brother is his substitute decision maker (SDM).
Mr. Ahmed Ali has remained on the Forensic Assessment and Rehabilitation Unit (FARU), which is a secure forensic unit, for the entirety of the reporting year.
Negative symptoms of Mr. Ahmed Ali’s schizophrenia remain prominent. He paces on the unit. He occasionally engages in on-unit activities but is largely seclusive. He requires significant encouragement to use his off-unit privileges. He also suffers positive symptoms of psychosis.
Mr. Ahmed Ali is likely experiencing ongoing delusional beliefs as he has been observed responding to internal stimuli.
Mr. Ahmed Ali did not attend any individual or group programming during the past reporting year despite a number of referrals being made on his behalf. He has been referred to psychology for a cognitive assessment.
There have been no incidents of verbal, environmental, or physical aggression during the reporting year.
Mr. Ahmed Ali receives financial support from Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and he receives a monthly Personal Needs Allowance (PNA).
Mr. Ahmed Ali’s father is his Approved Person.
The Hospital Report notes that Mr. Ahmed Ali is considered a moderate risk to reoffend violently if he were on a General Forensic Unit with indirectly supervised privileges.
Evidence at the Hearing
The Board had available to it the evidence and documents forming the Record, the Hospital Report, and oral evidence of Dr. Claire Harrigan, Mr. Ahmed Ali’s psychiatrist and signatory of the Hospital Report.
Dr. Harrigan testified that she has been Mr. Ahmed Ali’s psychiatrist since 2020.
Mr. Ahmed Ali remains guarded and superficial in interactions with staff and patients. He is quite seclusive to his room. He requires encouragement to use hospital grounds privileges. As a result of being superficial in his interactions, it is hard to know what he enjoys or what activities he should access.
Dr. Harrigan testified that Mr. Ahmed Ali’s Abilify was increased with SDM consent. Since that time the treatment team has noticed that he is more visible on the unit and more amenable to interactions with the staff.
Dr. Harrigan testified that the biggest challenge for the treatment team is having him share his thoughts. This is likely a residual symptom but it is hard to assess him because he generally declines to participate. The team has had difficulty doing a risk assessment because of Mr. Ahmed Ali’s lack of engagement in the process. They are having difficulty assessing his substance use and risk of unauthorized leaves for the same reason.
Mr. Ahmed Ali has appropriately used accompanied privileges on hospital grounds this year. Dr. Harrigan testified that the treatment team is trying to motivate him to use accompanied community privileges. The treatment team needs to see him utilize his community privileges before they will move him to a General Forensic Unit.
Dr. Harrigan stated that there is not an air of reality to Mr. Ahmed Ali having community living in the coming year. The treatment team need his cooperation to assess him in order to be able to provide appropriate privileges. However, Dr. Harrigan was pleased to hear at the outset of this hearing that Mr. Ahmed Ali has set his thoughts to community living. She commented that this, in and of itself, is promising.
Before community living could be a realistic goal, Dr. Harrigan says that Mr. Ahmed Ali will need to consistently use his hospital grounds and community privileges, participate in programming related to insight and symptom management, and participate in a cognitive assessment so that the treatment team can identify appropriate privileges to put into place.
Dr. Harrigan confirmed in her testimony that the clinical assessment of risk set out in the hospital report remains valid today.
In response to questions of Ms. MacDonald, Dr. Harrigan testified that Mr. Ahmed Ali remains ambivalent about using privileges. He has stagnated at using only a very low level of privileges. Dr. Harrigan stated that she does not believe that community living in Mr. Ahmed Ali’s Disposition would be a motivator for him. She also stated that there could be medication changes in the future but she is very cautious because Mr. Ahmed Ali has a history of seizures.
In response to questions of Mr. Whillier, Dr. Harrigan testified that there is some room to increase the mood stabilizer, but the hospital might need to consult a neurologist prior to making any changes to this medication due to the history of seizures. Mr. Ahmed Ali rarely engages with patients. He has telephone contact intermittently with his brother.
In response to questions of the Board, Dr. Harrigan testified that Mr. Ahmed Ali’s inability to engage with staff and his lack of motivation is likely due to negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Dr. Harrigan expressed that it was very positive to see him engaged enough to attend the hearing today.
Analysis and Conclusions
Having heard and considered the entirety of the evidence as well as the submissions from the parties, the Board independently finds that Mr. Ahmed Ali remains a significant threat to the safety of the public.
Mr. Ahmed Ali suffers from treatment resistant schizophrenia that has historically been prone to exacerbations requiring intensive interventions. He continues to have symptoms of his illness that impair his engagement with staff, engagement in programming, and his desire to use off-unit privileges.
His insight into his illness and the need for treatment remains poor.
The Board accepts the uncontroverted evidence in the Hospital Report that Mr. Ahmed Ali is considered a moderate risk to reoffend violently while on a Detention Order to a Forensic Unit, if residing on a General Forensic Unit with indirectly supervised passes.
Mr. Ahmed Ali has no involvement in psychorehabilitative programming designed to mitigate his risk factors.
The Board notes that it is the unanimous opinion of the treatment team that Mr. Ahmed Ali remains a significant threat to the safety of the public.
In light of the Board’s finding of significant threat, it is charged with shaping a Disposition for the coming year.
Though Mr. Ahmed Ali has not had any concerning incidents this year and has remained compliant with medication, he unfortunately continues to have both negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
Dr. Harrigan opines that there is no air of reality to Mr. Ahmed Ali achieving community living in the coming year. Community living in his Disposition would not be a motivating factor for Mr. Ahmed Ali. Therefore, a community living clause is not included in his Disposition.
The Board finds that there be no change in Mr. Ahmed Ali’s Disposition for the coming year. The Board finds that the necessary and appropriate, least onerous and least restrictive Disposition is a continuation of the Detention Order within the Forensic Program at Ontario Shores on the terms set out in our formal Disposition.
The panel would like to commend Mr. Ahmed Ali for his attendance at the hearing. We wish him the best in the coming year.
DATED this 27th day of May 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. Christine Murray Legal Member
Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board