Ontario Review Board
Re: Albano Vince Andrade
ORB File No: 2223
Hearing held on: Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health 1001 Queen Street West, Toronto
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. C. Fromstein
Members: Dr. G.A. Chaimowitz Dr. H. Moulden Mr. M.D. Segal Mr. J. Cyr
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Albano Vince Andrade Counsel: Ms. M. Addie
The Person in charge of Hospital: Counsel: Ms. M. Warner
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. M. Feindel
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated July 17, 2025)
Introduction
On January 26, 1996, Mr. Albano Andrade was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on a charge of assault, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. He is currently subject to a disposition dated April 24, 2024, detaining him on the Forensic Services at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH” or “hospital”) with privileges up to and including to live in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in approved accommodation and to report not less than once every four weeks.
On June 4, 2025, a panel of the Ontario Review Board (“Review Board” or “ORB”) convened at CAMH to review that disposition. The purpose of the hearing is to determine if Mr. Andrade continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public, and if so, the necessary and appropriate disposition in the circumstances, in consideration of the factors in s. 672.54.
Mr. Andrade did not attend the hearing. Ms. Addie, counsel for Mr. Andrade, indicated that she had spoken to him. Mr. Andrade does not accept that he is under the jurisdiction of the Review Board and so did not wish to attend the hearing. He instructed Ms. Addie to attend on his behalf.
The evidence at the hearing included the hospital report, exhibit 1, dated May 19, 2025 and the testimony of Dr. Benassi, Mr. Andrade’s most responsible psychiatrist.
Initial Positions
At the outset of the hearing, the parties were canvassed as to their initial positions. Ms. Warner, on behalf of the hospital, indicated the hospital position was that Mr. Andrade continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a continuation of the detention order with a change to increase the reporting frequency to not less than once per week.
Mr. Feindel, on behalf of the Crown, joined that position.
Ms. Addie took no position.
Index Offence
- Details of the index offence are summarized as follows:
“On July 24, 1995, Mr. Andrade was involved in a disagreement with his mother at the family home. This resulted in Mr. Andrade placing a belt around his mother’s neck and tightening it. Mr. Andrade then pushed his mother to the ground and dragged her from the family home onto the sidewalk. Four men were required to subdue Mr. Andrade and release his mother, who was being severely choked. Police arrived and he was charged with Assault. During the attack, Mr. Andrade was apparently experiencing a delusion that his mother had an evil twin who was possessed by the devil. Mr. Andrade stated that he “had a chance to erase the devil, and I did it”. Mr. Andrade was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on June 26, 1996. Initially, aftercare was offered on an outpatient basis through METFORS and, in June of 1996, Mr. Andrade’s aftercare was transferred to the Archway clinic, an outpatient service of Queen Street Mental Health Centre.”
Background
Full details of Mr. Andrade’s background are set out in the hospital report, exhibit 1, which can be referred to. Briefly summarized, he is presently 62 years of age. He has been subject to the Review Board jurisdiction for 29 years, since 1996.
He had multiple hospitalizations, commencing in 1984. These were usually precipitated by aggression and threatening behaviour to his family. His psychosis would improve during hospitalization with administration of medication but Mr. Andrade has a significant history of noncompliance with medication and psychiatric follow-up following discharges.
He is incapable with respect to medication. His sister assumed the role of Substitute Decision Maker (SDM) in 2015, after his mother’s death.
Mr. Andrade has a legal history commencing in 1987 at which time he was found guilty of assaulting his brother. In 1988, he set fire to his room in the family home, based on apparent delusional beliefs. After being found unfit initially, and then fit to stand trial, he was found convicted and placed on probation, requiring him to attend for treatment. He stopped treatment when the probation ended.
Mr. Andrade has lived in the community for 20 years under Ontario Review Board supervision. He resided with his mother until she passed away in 2015. Following that, he has resided at Mainstay Home on Rideau Avenue. That Mainstay Home was sold, requiring all the residents to move. In March 2024, Mr. Andrade set fire to a piece of plastic at the residence and was brought to the hospital, where he is suspected of attempting to set another fire. It was opined that his deterioration was likely as a result of the stressor of having to move from the home where he had lived stably. He challenged his involuntary detention in the hospital but remained an inpatient. At the time of his transition into the hospital, there was a change from his outpatient psychiatrist, Dr. Pearce, ultimately to Dr. Benassi.
It took two months after admission for Mr. Andrade to become more engaged. He continued to experience auditory hallucinations. His medications were changed in June to long-acting paliperidone which resulted in improvement in his affect and behaviour. As a result of his improvement, he was transferred to a general forensic unit in August 2024, where he remains, and Dr. Benassi took over his care. It was noted that after that transfer, there was decline in his mental state despite medication compliance, with elevated irritability, disinhibition and loud and disruptive behaviours. The staff were not able at that time to take him off the unit on passes. A change of medication resulted in some improvement.
In January 2025, he was reported to be isolating himself and by February becoming more irritable. His medication was increased, following which these behaviours improved. His brother and sister continued to visit him regularly.
Mr. Andrade has ongoing symptoms, hallucinations and persecutory beliefs. The hospital position of significant threat is based in part on the huge decompensations in his mental state in 2024 although adherent to medication, which might be due to stress. As a result, they recommend the increase in reporting due to the anticipated upcoming changes to his community residence which will likely be a destabilizing risk factor.
Dr. Benassi testified that the hospital had been advised that the Mainstay Association was building a new residence in Parkdale and that Mr. Andrade would have a unit available to him at that location. They encouraged him to tour the building in efforts to ready him for this change. Mr. Andrade did not believe that he had to move from his prior residence on Rideau. Surprisingly, the hospital was notified this week that there is not a space for Mr. Andrade at that Parkdale residence. Mainstay indicated they would look for another unit in another property but there is no set location for that. As of yesterday, Dr. Benassi was advised that Mainstay was recommending that Mr. Andrade return back to his former house. Dr. Benassi sent an email to the housing manager to find out what services and supports were available. It is Dr. Benassi's understanding that all clients who were residents at that location had been moved. Because of his supervision needs, Mr. Andrade could not move back into that residence unless there are adequate supports for him.
At this point, there is no known location for his discharge into the community. Dr. Benassi testified that he was advised that Mr. Andrade will be a priority for Mainstay in finding him alternative housing. It had been the treatment team’s hope that Mr. Andrade would be discharged into the community by the end of June. They have been working towards this since 2023. The recent necessary move was a stressor for Mr. Andrade. He has difficulty with change. He had been residing at 8 Rideau since 2016. Prior to that, he had always been living with his family. From a clinical perspective, Mr. Andrade is ready to transition to community living but it will take time to plan this so that he will be comfortable with the move.
Dr. Benassi confirmed the treatment team’s position that Mr. Andrade continues to represent a significant threat. He has a history of psychosis and lack of insight into his illness and his need for medication. His adherence to medication is all externally driven and enforced. He requires high support housing to manage his risk. He has shown risk-enhancing behaviours in 2004 with respect to his possibly setting fire at the hospital. It was in 1990 that he previously had set a fire. Mr. Andrade has remained stable in the context of external supports and supervision. Mr. Andrade has shown more instability in the past year while in hospital, to the extent that in August and September, he was unable to be taken into the community. This level of symptomatology and behaviours have not been seen for many years. Based on these concerns, Dr. Benassi stated a detention order is the necessary disposition.
The request to increase the frequency of reporting to not less than once every week reflects these clinical changes in the past year as well as the expected changes in housing which is a destabilizing factor for Mr. Andrade. His prior reporting reflected his very long stability residing in the same residence for many years. It will be necessary to closely support and monitor Mr. Andrade as he transitions to new community living.
Submissions
- All parties maintained their positions.
Analysis and Conclusion
The Board is unanimous in finding that Mr. Andrade represents a significant threat to the safety of public. He has no insight into his mental disorder or need for medication and his stability and treatment are through the external supervision he receives from the Ontario Review Board disposition. He has a history of assaultive behaviours as well as fire setting attempts. There was, as recent as last year, an incident of fire setting behaviour in his residence. Absent medication compliance and supervision, Mr. Andrade poses a significant threat of serious harm to the public. Mr. Andrade has been well supervised and was stable for many years at his former residence. The fact of that residence being sold and the requirement that he move was a significant stressor for him and a destabilizing factor. In the past year, there were deteriorations in his mental health despite medication compliance. These were to the point that he was unable to be taken out into the community on passes.
With medication changes and supervision, this has resolved and Mr. Andrade is felt to be ready for transition back into the community. It had been hoped that this would take place within a month, into a new residence in Parkdale. The team was aware of the importance of transitioning Mr. Andrade by making him comfortable with this move as the change does act as a significant stressor for him. Mainstay has indicated there will be a further residence for him but it is unknown where that will be. The suggestion of whether he should be moving back into the old home will be canvassed as to whether there are the appropriate and necessary supports that Mr. Andrade requires. The team is quite alive to his needs and will be investigating appropriate housing for Mr. Andrade moving forward. Because of these upcoming changes, it will be necessary to more closely monitor Mr. Andrade and it is for this reason the increased reporting is requested. The Board unanimously finds that that is appropriate to manage Mr. Andrade’s risk and agree that the disposition will be a continuation of the detention order with the increased reporting.
We make this disposition in consideration of the prime factor of protection of the public, Mr. Andrade’s mental condition, his reintegration into the community and his other needs.
DATED this 17^th^ day of July, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. C. Fromstein Alternate Chairperson
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Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board