Ontario Review Board
Re: Gloria Masika
ORB File No: 8591
Hearing held on: Monday, April 14, 2025
Place of Hearing: Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
Pursuant to: Section 672.81 (2.1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. G. Beasley
Members: Dr. S. Lessard Dr. R. Cormier Mr. D. Sandor Mr. A. Bernardo
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Gloria Masika Counsel: Ms. A. Murchison
Person in charge of hospital: Representatives: Dr. P. Hwang and Dr. M. Strike
Attorney-General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. M. Dufort
REASONS FOR DECISION
(Dated June 10, 2025)
Introduction
On July 8, 2024, the accused, Gloria Masika, was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on charges of Assault and Assault with a weapon, both contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. Ms. Masika is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated December 4^th^, 2024, which detains her at the Secure Forensic Unit of the hospital with privileges up to and including to live in the community of Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec, in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
By letter dated January 22^nd^, 2025, the hospital informed the Ontario Review Board that Ms. Masika had been admitted to hospital on January 14^th^, 2025, thereby constituting a restriction of her liberties.
On April 14^th^, 2025, the Board convened a hearing at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, hereinafter referred to as the hospital, to review that restriction of liberty pursuant to s. 672.81(2.1) of the Criminal Code. Ms. Masika was present and represented by counsel, Ms. Amy Murchison.
The only issue for this hearing was whether the restriction of Ms. Masika’s liberties by admission to hospital was warranted and reasonable in the circumstances.
For the reasons set out below, the Board finds that the decision of the hospital to significantly increase the restriction of Ms. Masika’s liberty by admitting her to hospital was and remains reasonable and warranted and represented the least onerous and least restrictive decision available to the hospital in the circumstances.
As the only issue before the Board was the restriction of Ms. Masika’s liberty by readmission to hospital, there is no need to repeat the details regarding the index offences as well as regarding Ms. Masika’s personal, criminal, and psychiatric history as these are set out in full in the Reasons for Disposition dated December 12^th^, 2024.
Positions of the Parties
- At the outset of the hearing, the representative of the hospital, Dr. Hwang, stated that the position of the hospital was that the restriction of liberty was warranted at the time it commenced and continued to be so on an ongoing basis. Ms. Dufort, counsel for the Attorney-General of Ontario and Ms. Murchison, counsel for Ms. Masika, supported the submission of the hospital. The parties jointly submitted that there would be no request to change the terms of the existing disposition.
Evidence at the Hearing
The hospital’s evidence was presented through its report and through the oral testimony of Dr. P. Hwang, Psychiatry Resident under the supervision of Dr. Strike. By way of update, Dr. Hwang stated that Ms. Masika had been stable on the unit and there had been no incidents of aggressive or violent behaviour. Although Ms. Masika continued to struggle with some emotional issues, there was no change in her Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type. The treatment team were working towards optimizing her medication.
Dr. Hwang said that Ms. Masika was receiving some benefit from participating in groups on the unit and working with the treatment team. She continued to express ongoing frustration at her admission and stated that she wished to return to the community. Dr. Hwang stated that the treatment team were working to try and find suitable accommodation so that Ms. Masika could be discharged. She had been on one community pass several days before the hearing and this had gone well. The team also were supporting Ms. Masika with respect to her daughter. Dr. Hwang stated that the fact that Ms. Masika has begun smoking again is a reflection of the stress she is currently under. Although Ms. Masika is receiving intramuscular long-acting injections, her ability to deal with stress still needs to be developed.
Ms. Dufort asked about the circumstances which lead to Ms. Masika’s admission to the hospital in Gatineau, Quebec, on December 27^th^, 2024. Dr. Hwang stated that the team had determined that Ms. Masika had stopped taking her medication early in November 2024. Although she would attend at the hospital and obtain her prescriptions, she was not taking all of medicine provided to her. When she was questioned at a team meeting about medication compliance, she stated that she was still taking her medication, but the details of her compliance were not fully explored by the team. Ms. Masika did not tell Dr. Strike that she had stopped taking certain medications. Her oral medications have now been replaced by long-acting injections.
In response to questions from Ms. Dufort, Dr. Hwang stated that the team are looking for independent residences in the community. Ms. Masika is frustrated by the length of her stay in the hospital and wants to leave so that she can spend time with her daughter. The team have concerns about her impulsivity and as previously stated, her ability to tolerate stress. She is also still receiving some oral medications as needed. The need for oral medications is a concern when considering her wish to live independently in the community. Dr. Hwang stated that when Ms. Masika is discharged, she will be seen more frequently by the treatment team either by direct meetings or with her participation in groups. Dr. Hwang did not know if there were any outstanding criminal charges as a result of the incidents in Quebec which led to her being taken to hospital.
Dr. Hwang stated that the treatment team social worker has been in contact with Ms. Masika’s brother. He is not in a position to take Ms. Masika back to live with him. He has visited with her at the hospital and took her on her pass earlier in April. At the present time, Ms. Masika has level six privileges, the primary use of which is to allow her to see her daughter in the community. Dr. Hwang stated that the treatment team are actively working with a number of agencies to find suitable accommodation which is within Ms. Masika’s financial resources.
Ms. Murchison asked about Ms. Masika’s insight into her need for medication. Dr. Hwang stated that in his opinion, Ms. Masika does realize that adherence to her antipsychotic medication is important. In fact, she asked for the long-acting injection medications. He agreed that this was a positive factor. Dr. Hwang said there was no specific “end goal” for Ms. Masika’s discharge into the community beyond her compliance with medication, participation in groups, no violent or aggressive behaviour and finding suitable approved accommodation. The accommodation is, at this time, the barrier to discharge. The team is looking for consistency of behaviour and progress. Dr. Hwang stated that the team tried to update Ms. Masika daily as to the results of their accommodation search. When asked about a timeline for discharge, Dr. Hwang stated that the accommodation is the final piece to be put in place. Dr. Hwang agreed that Ms. Masika did ultimately share with the treatment team that she had stopped her medication after she was admitted to the hospital. Ms. Masika had complained about some side effects, and these are being adjusted. With respect to Ms. Masika’s participation in outpatient groups, Dr. Hwang said that this will be dependent on the timing of when the groups start a new program.
A member of the panel asked Dr. Hwang about the nature and frequency of visits which Ms. Masika had with her daughter prior to her admission to hospital. Dr. Hwang stated that to his knowledge, although the Quebec authorities had been involved, they had determined that Ms. Masika’s former partner, the father of the child, was able to manage the parenting time for Ms. Masika without further supervision. Dr. Hwang said he had no specific information as to how frequently those visits were taking place before Ms. Masika’s readmission. Dr. Hwang reiterated that the missing piece to Ms. Masika’s discharge is the finding of suitable accommodation in the community.
Dr. Strike also gave evidence at the hearing. Dr. Strike testified that prior to her readmission to hospital, the treatment team had been able to arrange a few supervised visits for Ms. Masika with her daughter in the community. There was some limitation to the visits as a result of the baby’s father’s work schedule. Dr. Strike also stated that when the team asked Ms. Masika early in her admission why she had stopped taking her medication and not disclosed this to the treatment team, she said she wanted to see if she really needed it. She has since asked the team to provide the medication by way of a long-acting injection. Dr. Strike stated that there is ongoing value to Ms. Masika’s admission as she is continuing to improve in her ability to handle the many stresses in her life.
In response to a question from the panel, Dr. Strike stated that in her opinion, Ms. Masika understood that her readmission to the hospital and the ensuing difficulties in allowing her parenting time with her daughter and a future discharge to the community all arose as a result of her stopping her antipsychotic medication.
Neither the Attorney-General nor Ms. Murchison called evidence at the hearing.
Submissions
- The parties reiterated the joint submission made at the outset of the hearing that the restriction of liberty was necessary and appropriate at the time it commenced and on an ongoing basis.
Analysis and Decision
The circumstances surrounding Ms. Masika’s readmission to the hospital are outlined in the hospital report which was filed as an exhibit at the Restriction of Liberty hearing. Ms. Masika had been living in Gatineau in her brother’s apartment. She was responsible for obtaining and complying with her medications. Unbeknownst to the treatment team, Ms. Masika stopped taking one of her antipsychotic oral medications in early November of 2024. She later advised the treatment team that she did this to “see what would happen, to see what my brain was like off medication”. She also stated that her ex-partner had told her that the medication made her worse. Stopping the medication resulted in Ms. Masika developing auditory hallucinations which she found disturbing and distressing. By the end of December, she was fearing her brother and felt that she was compelled to attack him with a knife. After she obtained a knife from the kitchen, Ms. Masika was able to resist approaching her brother until finally she went to him and gave him the knife and requested that he call the hospital.
Ms. Masika’s brother took her to the Gatineau Hospital Emergency Department. It was there that Ms. Masika attacked one of the attending nurses causing her injuries. She then assaulted a second nurse at the hospital. The discharge summary from the Gatineau Hospital describes her on admission as being disorganized, screaming, crying, aggressive, with an elevated mood and responding to internal stimuli. It was necessary to place her in restraints for agitation and aggression. As a result of these events, Ms. Masika was apparently charged with criminal offences in Quebec, but the exact nature of those charges is unknown.
Ms. Masika was transferred to the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre on January 14^th^, 2025. As set out in the evidence of Dr. Hwang and of Dr. Strike, the treatment team were able to reestablish Ms. Masika’s compliance with her oral medication and her long-acting injectable antipsychotic medication. As set out in the evidence of Dr. Hwang, since her readmission, Ms. Masika has returned to her baseline mental status and has been stable with no incidents of violent or aggressive behaviour. She is also now fully compliant with her medication. In his evidence, Dr. Hwang stated that the only barrier to discharge for Ms. Masika at this time is finding suitable accommodation for her in the community.
At the outset of the hearing, the parties made a joint submission that the decision to readmit Ms. Masika to hospital and to continue to detain her was warranted and the least onerous option available at the time that it was made and on an ongoing basis. The panel is unanimous in accepting this joint submission by the parties. It is clear from the events which unfolded in Quebec in December 2024, that Ms. Masika’s decision to stop taking at least a portion of her antipsychotic medication had a profound result. Fortunately, she was able to resist the ultimate command hallucination to harm her brother or herself and sought assistance from him. Regrettably, her mental state was such that she is alleged to have assaulted two nurses at the Gatineau Hospital. Following her transfer back to the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ms. Masika has achieved her prior level of stability. It is clear that the decision to readmit her to the hospital was the only option available to the hospital at the time. The decision to continue to detain Ms. Masika in the hospital is a result of the treatment team’s difficulty in arranging independent living in the community that is within the resources available to Ms. Masika. Once accommodation has been arranged, both Dr. Hwang and Dr. Strike stated that Ms. Masika will be discharged. It is hoped that this will assist in allowing her parenting time with her daughter, the absence of which is one of the most significant stressors in her life.
The panel unanimously wishes Ms. Masika well in her reintegration into the community and her reuniting with her daughter.
DATED this 10^th^ day of June 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Mr. G. Beasley
Alternate Chairperson
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Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board