Re: William Edward Vincent
ORB File No: 3872
Hearing held on: Friday, June 20, 2025
Place of hearing: North Bay Regional Health Centre – North Bay Site
Pursuant to: Sections 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before: Alternate Chairperson: Mr. C. Fraser Members: Dr. R. Kunjukrishnan Dr. G. Stones Ms. C. Murray Mr. A. Bouvier
Parties Appearing: Accused: William Edward Vincent Counsel for Accused: Mr. C. Bracken The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Mr. P. Trenker The person on behalf of hospital: Ms. J. Doyon Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. D. McCaig
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated August 15, 2025)
Overview
On October 31, 2003, William Vincent was found not criminally responsible (“NCR”) on Criminal Code charges of resist police, attempted robbery, fail to appear, and possession of weapons dangerous.
Mr. Vincent is currently subject to a conditional discharge disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”) dated July 5, 2024. The terms of the disposition are minimal. They include a testing requirement for substances and a requirement that he reside in the catchment area of the North Bay Regional Health Centre – North Bay Site (the “Hospital”).
On June 20, 2025, this panel of the Board convened a hearing at the hospital to review Mr. Vincent’s current disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Vincent was present via Zoom and was represented by counsel, Mr. Bracken.
The issues for the Board to decide are first whether Mr. Vincent remains a significant threat to the safety of the public and, if so, what is the necessary and appropriate disposition for the coming year based on a consideration of the factors in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
At the outset of the hearing, the parties were asked for their positions. Hospital counsel indicated that Mr. Vincent no longer represented a significant threat to the safety of the public and he is therefore entitled to an absolute discharge. Crown counsel reserved her position until the evidence of Dr. Munro was complete. Mr. Vincent’s counsel joined the Hospital in the absolute discharge recommendation.
For the reasons which follow, the Board is unable to make a positive finding that Mr. Vincent remains a significant threat to the safety of the public and he therefore is entitled to an absolute discharge.
Index Offences
- The circumstances of the Index Offences are excerpted from last year’s Board Reasons dated July 5, 2024, at paragraph 7 as follows:
On Friday, July 25, 2003, Mr. Vincent attended at the Emergency Department of the General Hospital. When it was determined that there was no longer any reason for him to be there, the hospital staff told him to leave on numerous occasions, but he refused to do so. Officers also told Mr. Vincent to leave, but this was met by him shaking his head sideways, indicating that he would not. Ultimately, after numerous attempts and cautions, Mr. Vincent was arrested for Trespassing. He then resisted arrest by refusing to stand, straightening his legs, clenching his fists to avoid being cuffed, and attempting to block himself from leaving or going through doorways by stiffening his legs against the doorframe.
He had to be carried out of the hospital by officers, and then refused to get into the police cruiser. After forcefully being put into the vehicle, he was transported to the station. Once there, he had to be physically removed from the cruiser and carried into the station and then into the cells.
The second incident occurred on July 27, 2003, after Mr. Vincent had spent the night in lock-up for being intoxicated in a public place. He was released at 0745 hours unconditionally because he was sober upon his release. He then attended at the front lobby of the police station and spoke to the duty officer. It is documented that another male was in the lobby asking information, and he left the area at the same time as Mr. Vincent. A police officer went to the front door of the station to observe Mr. Vincent and saw him standing beside the open driver’s door of a Chevrolet van driven by the man who had previously been in the station lobby at the same time as Mr. Vincent. The police officer heard the man say to Mr. Vincent, “that’s my van” and observed Mr. Vincent shoving the man away, causing him to fall to the pavement. At that point, the police officer grabbed Mr. Vincent by the left wrist and tried to pull him out of the van. Mr. Vincent pulled away and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands. Mr. Vincent had to be placed in a headlock and pulled from the van. Once outside the vehicle, Mr. Vincent became compliant and was handcuffed. He was advised of the charge of Robbery and escorted to the cells. Mr. Vincent declined to call a lawyer and was lodged in the cells. At 1110 hours, he was released on a Promise to Appear and Undertaking and taken to hospital for assessment.
Mr. Vincent’s third charge occurred on August 12, 2003, when he failed to appear for prints and charges. A certificate was issued by the identification office and a first incident warrant was issued for the Failure to Appear.
The last incident for which he was charged occurred on September 13, 2003. At approximately 0100 hours, a group of four individuals were approaching the front door of the Princess bar, where there was a man leaning up against the brick wall. It is documented that he had a knife in his hand and that he lifted the knife over his head and made a slashing movement towards these four individuals. The police were called, and Mr. Vincent was arrested, given his rights to counsel and cautioned. He was then transported to the city police station and booked in. The knife was later located on the top of a hot dog/sausage vending cart outside the Princess bar. It is documented that the knife was approximately 10 inches long. It was a bread knife with a black handle.
Background and Course Since Last Hearing
Mr. Vincent’s personal background and history under the Board are set out in detail in the Hospital Report dated May 20, 2025 (Exhibit 1) and need not be repeated in detail. Briefly stated, Mr. Vincent is 45 years old. He is a First Nations man born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Mr. Vincent had a difficult childhood, in which he experienced multiple changes in caregivers as well as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. He was teased and bullied at school. He did not excel academically and completed only grade nine. His youth was significant for conduct disordered behaviour, including theft and endorsing violent attitudes. Mr. Vincent does not have a work history of any significance. He has never been married and has no children.
Prior to the Index Offences, Mr. Vincent had a history of criminal convictions for both violent and non-violent offences. His criminal offending began in 1999 and included convictions for break and enter, assault, assault with a weapon and multiple breaches of court orders.
Mr. Vincent’s current diagnoses are set out in the Hospital Report:
(a) Unspecified Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorder (b) Substance Use Disorder, in sustained remission (c) Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (d) Borderline Intellectual Functioning (e) Seizure Disorder (f) Cerebellar Syndrome
Mr. Vincent is capable to consent to treatment. Currently, the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee is his substitute decision maker for finances.
During the past reporting year, Mr. Vincent has continued to reside with his mother and stepfather in their residence on the Garden River First Nation Reserve (Garden River) just outside of Sault Ste. Marie.
Mr. Vincent has remained fully engaged with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) worker on the reserve. In October 2024, Dr. Wallenius (in Sault St. Marie) became his treating psychiatrist, albeit Dr. Munro of the Forensic Program at the Hospital continues to follow and assess Mr. Vincent on a bi-monthly basis.
As noted in the Hospital Report, there was a period in the past year when Mr. Vincent went to reside at his brother’s residence to assist his sister-in-law (and nieces and nephews) while his brother was absent from the home. The absence was a result of alleged racist behaviour by a neighbour towards his brother, and it was not possible for the brother to reside at the home during this period. Ultimately, (according to the Hospital report) a peace bond was obtained against the neighbour, and the brother was able to return to the home at which point Mr. Vincent returned to reside with his mother and stepfather. Mr. Vincent was a source of tremendous support for his brother and sister-in-law and nieces and nephews during this period, and he acted appropriately throughout.
Mr. Vincent has continued to attend cultural activities on the reserve and assisted in the household with various chores. He has a strong interest in music, having purchased guitars and an amplifier set.
Mr. Vincent has been active in seeking part-time employment and will continue to do so in the coming months as to-date he has been unable to secure suitable part-time employment, although he has submitted applications to several local businesses. He enjoys participating in traditional cultural events such as Round Dances and Pow Wows held on the reserve.
Mr. Vincent continues to be subject to the trespass notice that was issued in 2023 due to the incident involving a female employee at the Community Centre. Efforts will continue to be made by the CMHA worker to try and have the notice lifted. The team has intervened on Mr. Vincent’s behalf to try to have the notice repealed, but to-date they have not had success.
Mr. Vincent continues to attend NA and AA meetings twice a week at various religious organizations in the Sault Ste. Marie area. These meetings are no longer offered on the reserve.
Evidence at the Hearing
Dr. Munro gave the evidence for the Hospital at the hearing. The doctor has been Mr. Vincent’s treating psychiatrist since March 2022 and is the author of the Hospital Report, the contents of which she adopted in her evidence.
The doctor indicated that since February 2022, Mr. Vincent has been residing with his mother and stepfather on the Garden River reserve.
The doctor noted that since the time that he has been living on the reserve, he has exhibited exemplary behaviour (but for the incident involving the female employee at the community centre in 2023). During the time of last year’s hearing, Mr. Vincent did not have a treating psychiatrist in the community and did not have a medical follow-up through the clinic on the reserve.
The doctor reported that since October 2024 Mr. Vincent has been followed by a community psychiatrist in Sault Ste. Marie, Dr. Wallenius. Mr. Vincent has also been accepted into the medical clinic and will be seen by a nurse practitioner to address his medical needs. Dr. Wallenius will prescribe his psychiatric medication.
Mr. Vincent suffers from a seizure disorder and the concern last year was there was no medical follow-up in the community such that a referral, if necessary, could be made to a neurologist. The doctor indicated this has now been addressed with the attachment to the medical clinic on the reserve through the nurse practitioner.
Mr. Vincent has adapted well to the change and is engaging well with Dr. Wallenius according to the notes that Dr. Wallenius provided to Dr. Munro.
In addition, Mr. Vincent continues to have regular contact with the CMHA worker. Mr. Vincent remains adherent to his medication, both the antipsychotic as well as the medication for his medical issues.
Dr. Munro indicated there are no concerns regarding fluctuations in Mr. Vincent’s mental status and he has consistently maintained positive pursuits and has strong support and engagement with family members.
Dr. Munro particularly noted the period when Mr. Vincent went to reside with his sister-in-law to support her during his brother’s absence from their home. There were no negative interactions and Mr. Vincent demonstrated appropriate coping strategies and as described by Dr. Munro, “he handled it beautifully”. The doctor noted that there were times in the past when Mr. Vincent would not have been successful in coping with this scenario.
The doctor was asked about the risk assessment in the report and the timing of it. The risk assessment was completed by Dr. Lariviere (clinical psychologist) on May 11, 2025. The treatment team met on April 2, 2025, and there was a recommendation for an absolute discharge based on Mr. Vincent no longer meeting the significant threat to the safety of the public criteria.
Dr. Munro acknowledged that the scoring on the risk assessment was worrisome (high for violent recidivism without supports in place), however; she noted that actuarial risk assessment tests are weighted towards historical factors and that Mr. Vincent will likely always score high because of his past violence and aggression. According to Dr. Munro, Mr. Vincent will chronically be at a high level of risk for violence based on these historical factors.
Despite this, Dr. Munro said Mr. Vincent’s clinical presentation is to the contrary in terms of risk to public safety.
Dr. Munro fairly acknowledged the elevated risk assessment, but she also indicated that those scores reflect Mr. Vincent’s without supports in place. Dr. Munro indicated that the support Mr. Vincent will receive from Dr. Wallenius, the nurse practitioner and the CMHA worker, approximate what Mr. Vincent receives in the forensic system. The doctor indicated there would not be a significant step down in support if Mr. Vincent was granted an absolute discharge.
Dr. Munro pointed out that Mr. Vincent’s highest risk factor is a substance use disorder. For the last number of years Mr. Vincent has had excellent insight into the link between substance use and the risk posed to his mental health. He has been abstinent from alcohol and substances for several years (he has an occasional beer with his brother). He receives ongoing therapy training through the Hospital, and he regularly attends meetings for NA and AA in Sault Ste. Marie. The doctor indicated it was the unanimous recommendation of the team for the absolute discharge, and she believed that they were aware of the risk assessments that post-dated the meeting and the recommendation of the team.
The Hospital Report at page 109 describes assaultive behaviour by Mr. Vincent after the NCR finding. These assaults occurred in at a secure unit setting at the Hospital and at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. As noted by Dr. Munro, these are quite historical and go back as far as 2003 and there has been no observed violence in several years for Mr. Vincent. In fact, during the entire time he has been in the community since 2013 to the present there have been no concerns regarding violence or aggression.
Dr. Munro said Mr. Vincent is quite happy at the Garden River Reserve with his strong family support. He is engaged in several activities, and he is on a wait list for a tiny home on the reserve which would present him with independent living.
Dr. Munro believed Mr. Vincent would continue to take all his medication if granted an absolute discharge. This is not only because of the supervision of the Board and the Hospital, but Mr. Vincent has internal motivation to take medication to control his seizures and understands that he also must take antipsychotic medication. Residing with his mother and stepfather are protective factors in this regard.
Dr. Munro indicated that after the 2023 incident with the female employee at the Community Centre, Mr. Vincent received counselling for boundary and interpersonal relationships. The doctor noted that historically there was a diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder and at times Mr. Vincent can appear too enthusiastic in the company of women that he likes. As noted in the 2023 incident, the female employee felt very uncomfortable with Mr. Vincent’s behaviour.
In commenting on the risk assessment tests, Dr. Munro stated that their validity and appropriateness for the Indigenous population is a subject of debate.
The doctor was asked about protective factors, and she said that they are not accurately or adequately factored into the HCR-20 and the PCL-R. Mr. Vincent, for example, is prosocial, has very good family and professional supports, and engages fully in activities including substance use counselling.
As stated by Dr. Munro in response to questioning from the Board, Mr. Vincent has no criminal history in the past 22 years that he has been under the Board, albeit the doctor did note there were uncharged offences of violence that occurred in the secure unit forensic setting as mentioned earlier.
It was clarified that if Mr. Vincent was not living on the reserve, he would still have access to the medical clinic services due to his band member status. He is not required to be a resident on the reserve.
No further evidence was called at the hearing.
In final submissions, Crown counsel indicated her support for the joint recommendation for an absolute discharge after hearing the evidence of Dr. Munro.
Analysis and Conclusion
The threshold issue for the Board to determine is whether Mr. Vincent continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. In analyzing the evidence at the hearing on this point, the Board has considered the judgement of the Supreme Court of Canada in Winko v. British Columbia (Forensic Psychiatric Institute), 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625. The Board is also aware of a series of decisions from the Ontario Court of Appeal including Wall (Re), 2017 ONCA 713; Pellett (Re) 2017 ONCA 753; Marchese (Re), 2018 ONCA 307; Abdikarim (Re), 2017 ONCA 793; Medcof (Re), 2018 ONCA 299, Marmolejo (Re), 2021 ONCA 130, and Gibson (Re), 2022 ONCA 527. The risk must not be speculative but must be a real risk of serious physical or psychological harm arising from a criminal offence.
Having heard and considered all the evidence at the hearing and the submissions of the parties, the Board finds Mr. Vincent is no longer a significant threat to the safety of the public. The Board accepts the expert evidence of Dr. Munro and the evidence in the Hospital Report, which supports the conclusion that Mr. Vincent no longer represents a significant threat to the safety of the public.
The Board is satisfied that there is no evidence that Mr. Vincent’s discharge poses a real risk of serious criminality. Mr. Vincent has lived successfully in the community since 2013, without violence. Mr. Vincent has a durable relationship with the CMHA worker at the Garden River reserve. He has enjoyed this strong relationship for several years. Mr. Vincent also is now followed by a community psychiatrist in Sault Ste. Marie (as of October 2024) and has recently been accepted into the medical clinic at the reserve where he will be followed by a nurse practitioner. The psychiatrist will prescribe all his psychiatric medication, and the nurse practitioner will prescribe his medications to address his medical needs (i.e. seizures). The Board finds these safeguards are highly protective to ensure Mr. Vincent’s continued lack of violence, either physical or psychological.
Mr. Vincent has strong family support. He currently resides with his mother and stepfather on the reserve and has since February 2022. Mr. Vincent’s mother joined Mr. Vincent for the hearing via Zoom. Mr. Vincent is on a wait list for a “tiny home” on the reserve which would afford him greater independence while still maintaining proximity to family and the supports offered on the reserve.
The Board is aware of the risk assessment scores in the Hospital Report, and we are satisfied after hearing the evidence of Dr. Munro that there are significant protective factors favouring Mr. Vincent. The Board accepts that some of the issues highlighted in the risk scores are historical and static, for example, his criminal offending and medication non-compliance.
The Board is aware of the tenuous validity of some risk assessments (i.e.VRAG-R) for the indigenous persons population. There are several protective factors which we have identified herein that support the Board’s positive finding that Mr. Vincent no longer represents a significant threat to the safety of the public, including strong family support, civil mental health follow-up, and many years of no violence and abstinence from substance use.
The Board notes that Mr. Vincent has shown a strong ability for the past several years to understand the importance of medication compliance. The Board believes that Mr. Vincent would not hesitate to reach out to his CMHA worker, or Dr. Wallenius (his community psychiatrist), if there was any destabilization in his mental status. As noted by Dr. Munro, his substance use disorder is the highest risk factor and he has been abstinent for several years. He also has excellent insight into the need to remain free of substances to ensure a stable mental status. Support for this view is garnered by Mr. Vincent’s continued attendance at NA and AA meetings on a twice weekly basis. The Board notes that the current conditional discharge disposition does not include an abstain from substances term. Mr. Vincent has excellent insight into substance use and the need for abstinence.
Mr. Vincent has been under the jurisdiction of the Board since 2003, a period of 22 years. During that time, he has not incurred any further criminal charges.
The Board cannot identify a significant risk that is a real risk of physical or psychological harm to members of the public that is serious in the sense of going beyond merely trivial or annoying. The Board cannot make a positive finding that the risk posed by Mr. Vincent is criminal in nature. This is what Winko requires. The Board notes the absolute discharge recommendation was a joint submission of the parties and a unanimous recommendation of the treatment team.
As appellate courts have observed in several cases, the threshold for a finding of significant threat to the safety of the public is onerous. Upon careful consideration of all the evidence and the submissions of counsel, the Board is unable to make such a finding against Mr. Vincent. As the Board is unable to do so, Mr. Vincent must be absolutely discharged.
The Board was grateful to be able to be deliberate and then share with Mr. Vincent and his mother the good news of his absolute discharge. We wish him well.
DATED this 15th day of August 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Mr. Craig Fraser, Alternate Chairperson
Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board