Ontario Review Board
Re: Frank Dawes
ORB File No: 8016
Hearing held on: Friday, May 16, 2025
Place of Hearing: Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care St. Thomas
Pursuant to: Section 672.81 (2.1) of the Criminal Code
Before: Alternate Chairperson: Mr. M. D. Segal Members: Dr. R. Chandrasena Dr. S. Wiseman Mr. E. Siebenmorgen Ms. M. McKinnon
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Frank Dawes Counsel: Mr. W. Glover
The Person in Charge of Hospital: Counsel: Ms. J. Zamprogna
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. K. Dalrymple
REASONS FOR DECISION (Dated June 12, 2025)
Introduction
[1]. On January 21, 2022, Frank Dawes was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCR) on charges of robbery with a weapon (x2), fail to stop after an accident, fail to stop for police, resist or obstruct peace officer, breaking and entering with intent, dangerous driving, theft under and attempted robbery, contrary to the Criminal Code. Mr. Dawes is subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“ORB” or “the Board”) dated June 27, 2024 pursuant to which he is ordered detained at the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care (“Southwest Centre” or “the Hospital”) subject to various conditions and privileges, up to and including community living in Elgin County, in approved accommodation.
[2]. By way of a letter dated January 31, 2025, the Hospital provided Notice to the Board, pursuant to s. 672.56 (2) of the Criminal Code, that Mr. Dawes’ off-unit privileges were restricted as of January 2, 2025. On Friday, May 16, 2025, a panel of the Board convened in person at the Southwest Centre to inquire into the circumstances and to determine: (a) whether the Hospital’s actions constituted a significant increase in the restrictions upon Mr. Dawes’ liberties; and (b) if so, whether the increased restriction was warranted and justified, both at the time that it occurred and for its duration. Mr. Dawes was present and represented by his counsel, Mr. Glover.
Positions of the Parties
[3]. At the start of the hearing, the parties jointly took the position that there had been a significant increase in Mr. Dawes’ liberty restrictions and that the Hospital’s actions were warranted in the circumstances, for the duration of those increased restrictions. No party suggested that the Disposition itself should be reviewed. The parties maintained their positions at the conclusion of the evidence.
Evidence at the Hearing
[4]. The evidence at the hearing consisted of the Hospital’s Restriction of Liberties Report dated March 20, 2025, the Restriction of Liberties correspondence, and the oral evidence of Dr. B. Robertson, a senior psychiatric resident working with Mr. Dawes under the supervision of Dr. J. Quinn, Mr. Dawes’ attending psychiatrist.
Findings
[5]. For the Reasons that follow, the panel accepted the parties’ joint recommendation and found that the Hospital’s actions in restricting Mr. Dawes’ off-unit privileges on January 2, 2025 were warranted and represented the least onerous and least restrictive measure for the management of Mr. Dawes’ risk to the safety of the public. The panel further found that the continued restrictions of those privileges were also warranted for their duration.
Index Offences
[6]. The circumstances surrounding the index offences are extracted from the Reasons for Disposition dated July 22, 2024, and are reproduced as follows:
"On April 2, 2021, Mr. Dawes flagged down a driver on a County Road northwest of Guelph. When the driver stopped to assist, he approached aggressively and demanded the vehicle. He poked the driver with a stick when she reached into the back seat to get her purse.
Mr. Dawes drove north in the stolen Jeep. Five minutes later, he drove onto the soft shoulder of the road to pass another car and clipped it. He did not stop.
Over the next hour, two motorists called 911 to report a driver of a Jeep driving speeding, passing on the shoulder, and crossing over into the ongoing traffic. He went through Fergus and Arthur, both busy on the Easter long weekend.
Mr. Dawes then drove into a deep ditch west of Arthur. He abandoned the Jeep. Mr. Dawes flagged down another car and was given a ride southwest, back towards Guelph. Mr. Dawes searched through the glove compartment, apparently looking for a gun, and took a flashlight with him when he was dropped off in Rothsay.
Mr. Dawes, carrying a pitchfork, then approached a driver who was sitting in his van in his driveway. He demanded the keys to the van and asked if anyone else was at home and whether the driver had any guns. Mr. Dawes then drove off in the van. He reached speeds of 160 km per hour on the County Road and drove around a spike belt laid down by the police over the southbound lane. He drove through the village of Alma at high speed before continuing south and this time driving over a spike belt set up by police, bringing his car to a stop.
Mr. Dawes ran from the van into a house occupied by an elderly couple. He threatened the couple with the pitchfork and demanded their car key. He then left the house and came upon a BMW stopped outside the house. Wielding the pitchfork, he told the driver to get out. Mr. Dawes got into the car but was unable to operate the standard transmission. He got out of the car and attempted to flee but was arrested. He resisted arrest, causing a laceration on the police officer’s nose. He later gave the police three false names, before providing his real name. Mr. Dawes was prohibited from driving at the time of these events."
Background Information
[7]. Aspects of Mr. Dawes’ personal history, psychiatric background are summarized in last year’s Reasons for Disposition. Those portions that provide necessary context for the issues at this hearing are highlighted below.
[8]. Mr. Dawes is 46 years old. He is single and has two children with whom he has no ongoing relationship. He was raised in Guelph by his father and stepmother with whom he reportedly did not enjoy a good relationship. Mr. Dawes’ biological mother suffered with schizophrenia and substance use and is reported to have spent much of Mr. Dawes’ youth in psychiatric hospitals. Mr. Dawes’ biological parents died in 2008. He has a brother in the Maritimes and a sister who lives in Guelph. Mr. Dawes has a grade 9 education and a limited employment history.
[9]. Mr. Dawes has a significant substance use history beginning at a young age. That history includes the use of alcohol, cannabis, crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and fentanyl. Between 1997 and 2021 (the year of the index offences), he reportedly attended at hospital one hundred and eleven times, usually pertaining to substance misuse, intoxication or overdose. Prior to the index offences, Mr. Dawes also had a lengthy criminal record, beginning in 1992 as a youth, which includes, inter alia, possession of a firearm or ammunition, possession of a weapon, two convictions for assault, assault with intent to resist arrest, and assault causing bodily harm.
[10]. Mr. Dawes’ first contact with psychiatric services was in 1993 when he was assessed at a community mental health clinic on the advice of his probation officer. During his frequent hospital visits, symptoms of mental illness were noted including paranoia, mood fluctuations and hallucinations. Reportedly, his heavy and persistent substance use, in conjunction with lack of continuity in care, impeded diagnostic consensus. Mr. Dawes was occasionally prescribed antipsychotic medications and mood stabilizing medications with some reported benefit, but he was unable to adhere to them consistently. In later years, he was prescribed a long-acting injectable antipsychotic medication (“LAI”) but was again inconsistently adherent. He is now diagnosed with schizophrenia and substance use disorder.
[11]. According to the testimony of Dr. Mokhber (his then treating psychiatrist) at the 2024 annual hearing, Mr. Dawes had tested positive for amphetamines in January of 2024. As reported in last year’s Reasons, according to Dr. Mokhber, Mr. Dawes remains vulnerable to substance use as indicated by his amphetamine use and an apparent recent attempt to snort Epsom bath salts.
Evidence at the Hearing
[12]. Prior to the incidents that gave rise to this hearing, Ms. Dawes had been using Level 6 privileges (full hospital and grounds access, indirectly supervised). Dr. Robertson testified that Mr. Dawes had just been approved for Level 7 privileges (community access) but had only been in the community on a few occasions.
[13]. Mr. Dawes was observed to experience a notable change in his mental status on the nights of December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025. He was unable to sleep, paced the hallways, and spoke about hearing voices. Several peers on the unit showed similar signs, and staff suspected drug use. Mr. Dawes’ urine tested positive for metabolites of cannabis. On January 2, 2025, when approached for a search, Mr. Dawes pulled a bag with white powder out of his sock and attempted to eat it. Ultimately, Mr. Dawes reported that the bag had methamphetamine in it, which he had found in the courtyard around the hospital (he had been observed by staff searching in the bushes around this time). Dr. Robertson testified that urinalysis also showed evidence of methamphetamines.
[14]. Mr. Dawes made numerous paranoid remarks, including that he was worried that people were entering his room and that police were hypnotizing him remotely. He requested anti-anxiety medications, noting that his anxiety worsened after using the drug. He reported that the urine with cannabis came from a peer, and that he had been storing urine bottles in an attempt to cover up his methamphetamine use.
[15]. Mr. Dawes’ off-unit privileges were removed on January 2, 2025, so that his mental status could be stabilized. Dr. Robertson testified that Mr. Dawes’ symptoms had become exacerbated, and he was more irritable than when at his baseline. The letter to the Board stated that his symptoms were similar in quality to what was reported during his index offences. By the date of that letter (January 31, 2025), Mr. Dawes had regained Level 3 privileges (access within the hospital) and was reportedly working towards having the access outside of the hospital (including the courtyard areas) that he had prior to his methamphetamine use.
[16]. Mr. Dawes was started on suboxone (anti-craving medication) and began attending at least one program per day, including “ACT for Anger” and Alcoholics Anonymous. With stabilization and increased program participation, Mr. Dawes’ privilege levels were gradually increased and by March 5, 2025, he had returned to his Level 6 privileges, which the Hospital characterized as Mr. Dawes’ “liberty norm”.
Analysis and Conclusions
[17]. The panel had no difficulty accepting the parties’ joint position and found that the Hospital’s decision to restrict Mr. Dawes’ privileges to his unit on January 2, 2025 was entirely warranted. He was experiencing notable and recent changes to his mental state that were described as bearing similarities to the symptoms he exhibited at the time of the index offences. His mental condition needed to be stabilized, and his risk to the public needed to be contained. The treatment team acted responsibly to address the risk presented by Mr. Dawes’ consumption of methamphetamine, by among other things ensuring that he no longer had access to the substance.
[18]. Thereafter, Mr. Dawes’ treatment team worked with him to safely restore his indirectly supervised hospital and grounds privileges. By March 5, those privileges were again in place. The panel is satisfied that the two-month period from January 2 to March 5, 2025 is adequately accounted for on the evidence. By the end of the first month, Mr. Dawes was able to exercise hospital privileges again. Against the background of Mr. Dawes’ serious substance use history and associated decompensation of his mental status, the treatment team understandably acted in a deliberate and cautious fashion to put in place both pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures to return Ms. Dawes to a place where he could exercise his privileges yet do so while remaining abstinent from substances.
[19]. In approaching this matter, the panel has considered the evidence through the lens of the factors in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
DATED this 12th day of June 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Eric Siebenmorgen Legal Member
Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board