Ontario Review Board
Re: Leah Gerry
ORB File No: 8514
Hearing held on: Tuesday, July 15, 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: Mr. P. Capelle Members: Dr. B. Sheppard Dr. T. Stirpe Hon. C. Nelson Ms. R. Chopra
Parties Appearing: Accused: Leah Gerry Counsel: Ms. M. Addie
The Person in charge of Hospital: Counsel: Ms. S. Rosales-Zelaya
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. V. Culp
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated August 26, 2025)
Introduction
On March 13, 2024, Leah Gerry was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on a charge of assault with a weapon, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (“Criminal Code”). Ms. Gerry is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the "Board") dated June 20, 2024, detaining her at the General Forensic Unit of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (“CAMH”) with privileges up to living in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
On July 15, 2025, a panel of the Board convened a hearing pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Ms. Gerry was in attendance and was represented by her counsel, Ms. Addie.
Without Prejudice Position of the Parties
Ms. Rosales-Zelaya, on behalf of the hospital, indicated that no change was being sought to the existing detention disposition. That recommendation was supported by Ms. Culp on behalf of the Attorney General and by Ms. Addie, who also conceded the ongoing presence of significant threat, on behalf of Ms. Gerry.
Background and Index Offences
The circumstances of the index offences are taken from the Hospital Report, as follows:
“Prosecution Summary - SYNOPSIS for A Guilty Plea
CHARGE #1:Assault with weapon
Location: 301 Broadview Avenue, Toronto
Date & Time: Thursday, July 13th, 2023 at 5 p.m.
Accused: Leah GERRY (1985.05.30)
Victim: Amira GHANADI (28 year old)
Background:
301 Broadview Avenue, Margaret's Housing and Community Support Services, Margaret's Housing and Community Support Services ("Margaret's") is a multi-service agency that provides a continuum of housing options to women living with mental illness and substance use, and innovative community-based support services for individuals experiencing intersectional issues tied to mental health challenges and homelessness.
The accused and the victim both reside at this location.
Synopsis:
On Thursday, July 13, 2023 around 5 pm, the accused attended the victim's room, uninvited the accused entered the victim's room armed with a silver pocket knife. The accused slashed at the victim, who was laying on her bed at the time. (Charge #1)
The victim sustained a scratch as a result of the slashing to the bottom of her right foot.
Police attended and arrested the accused, read her rights to counsel and transported her to 55 Division.
A silver utility knife (Swiss Army Style knife) was recovered.”
Current Diagnoses
Schizophrenia
Cannabis and Alcohol Use Disorders (in sustained remission in a controlled environment)
Evidence at Hearing
The Board admitted into evidence the Hospital Report dated 2025.05.16 as Exhibit 1. That document provides a great deal of information concerning Ms. Gerry’s personal history, mental health history as well as her course in hospital and in the community both prior to and after the index offences. As the Hospital Report was made an Exhibit, it’s unnecessary to reproduce the information contained therein in these Reasons.
In addition to the documentary evidence the Board also heard from attending psychiatrist Dr. Valoo. Asked if there were any material updates to the Hospital Report the doctor responded that there was one: Ms. Gerry is currently allowed Level 5 passes which enable indirectly supervised access to hospital grounds. She has been using these passes one to two times per day to collect newspapers for her unit to read and to attend therapeutic groups. Over the past few weeks her attendance has been consistent with positive feedback received from her therapist. By the week after this hearing, A week following this hearing Dr. Valoo intends to seek Level 6 passes for Ms. Gerry. This would enable recreational and social passes on hospital grounds.
During the 2025/2026 reporting year, community discharge planning will be initiated if Ms. Gerry attains Level 7 or Level 8 passes.
Overall, Ms. Gerry has had a highly successful year and demonstrated great improvements vis-à-vis:
developing insight to her mental health,
understanding the consequences of substance use, and
the requirements to maintain the conditions necessary to sustain mental health stability
Dr. Valoo believes that Ms. Gerry’s stability is reliant on the terms and conditions of her detention disposition which remain necessary and appropriate to manage her risk. At present, Ms. Gerry is not yet ready for community living because of ongoing fluctuations in her mental state and the need to identify housing that will meet her needs. Ms. Gerry is treatment resistant so efforts to optimize her medications will continue. In June 2025 Ms. Gerry completed a consultation with Electro Convulsive Treatment (ECT) Services in the presence of her mother. As a result, a meeting is scheduled for the week following this hearing to discuss whether to move forward with a lithium trial or with ECT.
Dr. Valoo agreed with the suggestion that Ms. Gerry works well with the treatment team and is cooperative. She added that both of Ms. Gerry’s parents are approved persons who take her out into the community and that all passes with them have gone well.
Closing Observations
Ms. Rosales-Zelaya congratulated Ms. Gerry on the progress she has made over the year in review. These comments were adopted by Ms. Culp. Ms. Addie also congratulated Ms. Gerry for an excellent year, making good use of resources and striving to optimize treatment as well as a positive relationship with the Treatment Team.
Analysis and Decision
(a) Significant Threat
Ongoing significant threat to the safety of the public cannot be speculative. It must entail a real risk of serious physical or psychological harm arising from conduct that is both serious and criminal in nature.
In determining whether Ms. Gerry continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public the Board has carefully analyzed the evidence as it relates to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Winko, 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625.
The Board unanimously finds that Ms. Gerry continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public. In arriving at this determination, the Board considered the joint position of the parties and accepted the uncontroverted evidence of Dr. Valoo that Ms. Gerry continues to pose a significant threat. Ms. Gerry suffers from Schizophrenia; a major mental illness, that in the past has been complicated by Cannabis and Alcohol Use Disorders, currently in sustained remission in a controlled environment. Her ongoing risk to public safety is set out withn the Clinical Risk Factors/Re-offence Scenario found at pages 30-31 of the Hospital Report and reproduced below for ease of reference.
Criminogenic risk factors include: treatment-resistant manic and psychotic symptoms (leading to violence towards others, as evidenced multiple times prior to the index offence and also over the past reporting period), a history of recreational substance use (perpetuated by impulsive behaviours), and a lack of coping strategies (leading to maladaptive coping strategies such as recreational substance use and behavioural outbursts directed at others).
In risk assessment, one of the best predictors is a patient’s history of violence. Ms. Gerry has a fairly extensive history of violence against family, housing staff, other residents, hospital staff, and patients, all likely, like the index offence, in the context of psychosis.
If Ms. Gerry were to re-offend, this will likely transpire in the following way: in the absence of maintenance of a high degree of supervision and support, Ms. Gerry would discontinue psychiatric treatment and may revert back to recreational substance use. Deteriorations in her mental state (which is symptomatic at baseline), plus ensuing psychosocial destabilizers, will result in difficulty with reality testing and a failure to stressors and negative emotions, which will then increase her risk of violence.
Given the foregoing, the Board determines that absent an ORB Disposition, Ms. Gerry would likely become non-compliant with prescribed medications which would lead to decompensation, use of substances and the re-emergence of behaviours similar to those seen at the time of the index offences. We are satisfied that absent an ORB Disposition, it is likely that Ms. Gerry will cause serious physical or psychological harm to members of the public and such conduct will likely be criminal in nature.
(b) Disposition
Flowing from the Board’s finding that Ms. Gerry continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public it must shape a Disposition for the year ahead. Its paramount consideration in doing so must be the safety of the public while also considering Ms. Gerry’s needs pursuant to s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
The necessary and appropriate disposition for Ms. Gerry provides her as much freedom as possible without subjecting the community to a real risk of dangerous behaviour.
In considering Ms. Gerry’s needs, the Board also took note of certain incidents of concern that while not addressed by Dr. Valoo in her testimony are reflected at pages 20-21 of the Hospital Report. These incidents include:
-fleeting paranoic episodes that nursing staff were monitoring her or entering the shower with her.
-sexually inappropriate or disinhibited behaviour
-seemingly unprovoked yelling, swearing and racial slurs directed at a co-patient
-during the week of February 17, 2025, Ms. Gerry shoved her mother, albeit lightly and initiated a verbal altercation with a co-patient that same day.
-February 26, 2025, Ms. Gerry instigated a physical altercation with an elderly co-patient and pushed the other patient to the ground. Ms. Gerry was apologetic thereafter and accepted the resulting suspension of her passes.
-April 14, 2025, Ms. Gerry pulled a hat off a co-patient’s head and threw it to the ground during an altercation
A conditional discharge is therefore insufficient to manage Ms. Gerry’s risk at present. She has no form of community living available to her at this time.
When a community living residence is identified, the hospital will initially require the ability to approve the residence, thereby providing a degree of oversight that can maintain psychiatric stability and assist in attenuating the degree of risk to public safety. Any future placement process will be overseen by the Hospital’s out-patient forensic team that will also initially require the ability to expeditiously return Ms. Gerry to hospital if signs of mental deterioration are detected.
Conclusion
Therefore, the Board unanimously determines that the necessary and appropriate Disposition required to manage the threat Ms. Gerry poses to the safety of the public while still meeting her needs remains a Detention Disposition, absent any changes.
In making this Disposition, the Board carefully considered the positions and submissions of the parties and the evidence of Dr. Valoo and is satisfied that this determination is both necessary and appropriate. The Board reviewed the provisions of s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code and carefully considered the need to protect the public from dangerous persons, Ms. Gerry’s mental condition, her reintegration into society and other needs.
DATED this 26^th^ day of August, 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Mr. P. Capelle Alternate Chairperson
__________________
Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board