Ontario Review Board
Re: Jordan Ahmed
ORB File No: 7390
Hearing held on: Monday, July 14, 2025
Place of Hearing: Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (Via Zoom)
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. M. Labrosse
Members: Dr. W. Komer
Dr. R. Cormier
Mr. D. Sandor
Ms. K. Brisson
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Jordan Ahmed
Counsel: Ms. K. Lundrigan
Person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. S. Gulati
Attorney-General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. M. Dufort
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated September 12, 2025)
Introduction
On July 27, 2018, the accused, Jordan Ahmed, was found not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder on charges of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.
Mr. Ahmed is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated July 15, 2024, which detains him in the secure forensic unit of the hospital with privileges up to and including community living in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
On July 14, 2025, the Ontario Review Board convened a hearing at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, hereinafter referred to as the hospital, to review that disposition. Mr. Ahmed was present and represented by his counsel, Ms. Keara Lundrigan. Mr. Ahmed’s mother and brother also attended the hearing. A hospital report dated June 30, 2025 was entered as Exhibit No. 1.
The issues for this hearing are whether Mr. Ahmed continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public and, if so, to determine the necessary and appropriate disposition having regard to the factors set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
For the reasons set out below, the Board finds that Mr. Ahmed continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public and that a detention order on the same terms and conditions, with the addition of overnight access at his father’s house up to 72 hours with the prior approval of the person in charge, is the necessary and appropriate and least onerous and least restrictive disposition.
Index Offences
- The circumstances of the index offences are set out in the hospital report as follows:
“According to the police report, Mr. Ahmed visited his mother, Ms. Massuada Ahmed, at her home in Ottawa on February 2, 2018. He was a voluntary patient at the ROMHC Recovery Program since October 2017 and had been granted a weekend pass to visit his mother. While at home, he got into a verbal argument with her, grabbed a kitchen knife and violently stabbed her in the back and the head area.”
Background History
Mr. Ahmed’s personal, legal and psychiatric history is set out in detail in the hospital report dated June 30, 2025 (Exhibit 1). Briefly summarized, Mr. Ahmed is 34 years of age and was born and raised in Ottawa. His father is an engineering professor and his mother stayed at home to raise the children and has never been employed. His parents divorced when Mr. Ahmed was three years old and he lived with his mother in the family home throughout his childhood.
Mr. Ahmed reportedly struggled in school and was held back several grades. His father reported that his son was often bullied.
Mr. Ahmed has never held a job and has been receiving ODSP benefits for many years.
Criminal History
- Mr. Ahmed has no prior criminal history.
Psychiatric History
Mr. Ahmed has suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder since he was five years old. He was diagnosed with Tourette's Disorder at age eight and was seen by a neurologist. He was also diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. In 2011, Mr. Ahmed was given a diagnoses of “Depressive Disorder with psychosis, possible early schizophrenia and possible anxiety disorder.” He also endorsed some obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
From 2012 to February 2018, Mr. Ahmed was followed by Dr. Attwood, a psychiatrist in the Schizophrenia Program at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. He was admitted on three occasions during this period.
Mr. Ahmed was admitted on a Form 1 on March 12, 2015, after he assaulted his mother. He was initially admitted to the Ottawa Hospital – Civic Campus before being transferred to the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. He was discharged on June 6, 2015. Details about these admissions and his course during and after the admissions are described in the hospital report.
Current Diagnoses
- Mr. Ahmed suffers from autism spectrum disorder. Neuropsychological Testing completed in 2019 suggested that he has borderline intellectual functioning. Mr. Ahmed also suffers from schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Evidence at the Hearing
The hospital’s evidence was presented through its report dated June 30, 2025 and through the oral testimony of Dr. S. Gulati, who is Mr. Ahmed current attending psychiatrist.
Mr. Ahmed has remained on the Forensic Rehabilitation Unit of the hospital over the course of the last reporting year. According to Dr. Gulati there have been some significant improvements in Mr. Ahmed’s behaviour which resulted in his transfer to the Forensic Rehabilitation Unit (FRU) from the Forensic Assessment Unit (FAU) in early August of 2024.
Mr. Ahmed has been exercising indirectly supervised community access for approximately the last six months, and he has successfully spent time in the community, either at the local shopping centre or more regularly having visits with his family who have been providing transportation to and from the hospital. Mr. Ahmed has completed OC Transpo bus training but so far as opted for pick-up and drop-off by his family members. Mr. Ahmed does not currently have visits at his mother’s home; his mother having been the victim of the index offences. His mother visits him regularly at the hospital and was present at his ORB Hearing.
In spite of his complex diagnosis, Mr. Ahmed has remained stable over the last reporting period and there have been no incidents of aggression and no “code whites” contrary to previous years.
The hospital is recommending the addition of overnight privileges at Mr. Ahmed’s father’s house to the current disposition.
In response to questions posed to him by counsel for the Attorney General, Ms. Dufort, Dr. Gulati explained that Mr. Ahmed’s family will be supervising his medication-taking during the passes to his father’s home. Despite occasional complaints about his medication, Mr. Ahmed has been compliant and understands that his compliance with treatment is required. Dr. Gulati indicated that medication management is likely to be an ongoing requirement given Mr. Ahmed’s complex diagnosis. Ongoing adjustments are likely to be made to Mr. Ahmed’s medication as the team is always trying to find the right balance. He expects that these adjustments can be managed on an outpatient basis.
The most significant development in the past year has been the successful application for DSO-funded community residential accommodation to which Mr. Ahmed is expected to transition over the course of the next 3 to 4 months. Dr. Gulati explained that the accommodation is a two-bedroom townhouse with 24-hour supervision. Mr. Ahmed will have a roommate and will be allowed to access the community during the day, subject to a curfew. His medication will be supervised by the staff at the house.
It is not yet clear how Mr. Ahmed will be occupying his time during the day, but Dr. Gulati expects that this will be explored over the course of the transitional period. Mr. Ahmed is currently participating in hospital programming; however, the treatment team will need to determine what activities and programming will be available once he is discharged to the community.
During the transitional period, Mr. Ahmed will have trial leaves and overnights until his ultimate discharge from hospital. It is expected that he will continue to have access with his family, including the overnight visits up to 72 hours.
Mr. Ahmed has very significant family support, including his brother who has become very involved in his care and resides with the father.
With respect to the visits with his mother, they have been going well without supervision needed from the team, now that Mr. Ahmed no longer has thoughts of wanting to hurt his mother. He does not currently have visits with her at her home.
With respect to his activities of daily living, Dr. Gulati confirmed that a functional assessment has not yet been completed but will be done to facilitate the transition to the community residence. There will be an extensive transfer of knowledge between the treatment team and the staff at the residence. Mr. Ahmed will receive support with his
activities of daily living as needed by the staff at the residence, with the support of the outreach team as needed.
Dr. Gulati confirmed that Mr. Ahmed is undergoing medication changes to target the re-emergence of his OCD symptoms. As stated in the hospital report, “most of Mr. Ahmed’s past aggression relates to cognitive rigidity and autism such that behavioural strategies remain significant in addition to the medication regime.”
In the opinion of Dr. Gulati, Mr. Ahmed has been appropriately using his indirectly supervised community passes and this is expected to continue once he is discharged to his new residence.
Dr. Gulati confirmed that there had been an intention for Mr. Ahmed to apply for Para Transpo but that this is still “in the works”.
The hospital’s Prognosis and Risk is contained at pages 57 and 58 of the hospital report. and reads as follows:
“Using the HCR-20 version 3, a structured clinical judgement risk assessment tool and other valid clinical risk factors for violence, it is my opinion that Mr. Ahmed continues to present a moderate risk of future violence. Historical factors include his past physically and verbally aggressive behaviour he has exhibited including assaulting his mother with a knife, as well as the verbal and physical aggressiveness towards staff that has caused psychological and physical harm to the victims.
Mr. Ahmed’s historical risk factors are largely unchanged. He has had lengthy periods of stability on the inpatient unit, punctuated by incidents of extreme aggression.
Mr. Ahmed was sentenced to a year’s probation for assaulting a nurse on April 23, 2019. There was an incident on July 31, 2020 in which he was verbally aggressive and threatening toward nursing staff. There was a Code White incident on January 26, 2021 as well as a verbally aggressive incident on August 11, 2021. Mr. Ahmed then had no aggressive incidents until May and June 2022, when there were severe code whites with aggression towards staff. He had another such incident in August 2022. There were incidents in October 2022, with four severe code whites in the same week. He had one episode of verbal aggression towards staff in March 2023, and de-escalated with the assistance of a peer. Mr. Ahmed has stated that the staff member had acted aggressively toward him on that occasion and called a code white unnecessarily.
Mr. Ahmed’s aggressive were perceived to be in relation to his poor social skills, his misinterpretation of others’ intentions and tone of voice, and a pervasive feeling of injustice. When experiencing stress his ability to regulate his frustration and anger is limited. The aggression in the summer and fall of 2022 was linked to bullying by peers and Mr. Ahmed’s sense of injustice when he perceived the peers were not being adequately punished. Psychosis was not seen as a factor in the reported aggressive incidents.
However, it is to be noted that Mr. Ahmed has had a stable period over the last 12 months. Mr. Ahmed’s stability relies heavily on the significant support provided by our multidisciplinary team. He continues to have a good working relationship with the behaviour therapist, Ms. Vanessa Setter, and his engagement with other disciplines have also much improved.
Medications have helped stabilize Mr. Ahmed’s schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although, Mr. Ahmed has now been complaining of distress due to reemergence of OCD symptoms. He is undergoing medication changes to help with that. Most of Mr. Ahmed’s past aggression relates to cognitive rigidity and autism, so behavioural strategies remain significant in addition to the medication regime.
In terms of dynamic (possible modifiable risk factors), Mr. Ahmed no longer has thoughts of wanting to hurt his mother, and their visits have been going well, with no supervision needed from the team. He was going on successful community outings with a worker from ICSS for several months prior to his transfer to the Forensic Assessment Unit.
Mr. Ahmed has shown improvements in his ability to cope with stress. He seeks support from staff, as necessary.
Given the chronic nature of Mr. Ahmed’s Autism Spectrum Disorder and his inflexible thinking at times and social deficits, he remains a moderate risk of unpredictable and reactive aggressiveness. However, we have noticed in the reporting period that he is more amenable to timely staff interventions. Also, Mr. Ahmed has himself availed staff support in times of conflict with other patients rather than acting aggressively. This has been a big shift compared to last year when we had witnessed several code whites due to his level of aggression.
Mr. Ahmed’s social deficits mean that it is important to monitor his relationships with peers and with staff alike. He would benefit greatly from living in a smaller environment with fewer peers and staff. Mr. Ahmed’s living situation appears to be changing. He is now actively pursuing the accommodation identified for him by the DSO services. This level of support is necessary for ongoing treatment of his mental illness and for risk management.”
- No further evidence was presented.
Submissions of the Parties
- The Board was presented with a joint submission of all parties that Mr. Ahmed continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public and that a detention order remains the necessary and appropriate disposition with the addition of overnight passes up to 72 hours per week at his father’s residence in Ottawa.
Analysis and Conclusion
Having considered all of the evidence tendered at the hearing, and the submissions of the parties, the Board finds that M. Ahmed continues to meet the threshold of significant threat to the safety of the public as set out in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code of Canada and as further defined in Winko v. British Columbia (Forensic Psychiatric Institute), 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625.
According to Winko, a ‘significant threat to the safety of the public’ means a real risk of physical or psychological harm to members of the public that is serious in the sense of going beyond the merely trivial or annoying. The conduct giving rise to the harm must be criminal in nature. Further, it is noted that evidence to determine whether an individual is a significant threat to the safety of the public can include the past and expected course of the NCR accused’s treatment, if any, the present state of the NCR accused’s medical condition, the NCR accused’s own plans for the future, the support services existing for the NCR accused in the community, as well as other items.
In arriving at the determination that Mr. Ahmed continues to meet the threshold of significant threat to the safety of the public, the Board relies on the uncontroverted evidence of the hospital, including its report and the oral testimony of Dr. Gulati. Absent a Board Disposition, Mr. Ahmed would likely be non-compliant with treatment which would lead to a decompensation of his Schizophrenia, complicated by his other complex diagnoses, including Autism Spectrum Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which in turn would likely cause the re-emergence of behaviours similar to those at the time of the index offences, which could quite easily have been lethal in nature.
It is noted that in the last reporting period, there have been significant improvements in Mr. Ahmed’s behavioural regulation. Has been working with a behavioural therapist, has demonstrated stability and has not been aggressive. This contrasts with the multiple instances of verbal and physical aggression of previous years. Mr. Ahmed was transferred from the FAU to the FRU last August and has graduated up the privilege levels to the point where he is enjoying significant indirectly supervised community access. The treatment team is still managing potential risk to Mr. Ahmed’s mother, who is the victim of the index.
Confirmation that Mr. Ahmed has been granted a DSO-funded placement in the community has been the most significant and positive development in the past year. It is expected that Mr. Ahmed will be gradually transitioned to this accommodation over the next three to four months.
The proposed addition of overnight leave up to 72 hours at his father’s residence will be a good complement to the supervised community accommodation and ensures that Mr. Ahmed continues to have quality time with his family.
As the transition to the community and eventual hospital discharge are initiated, a detention order continues to be required to ensure rapid admission to hospital if necessary, and to ensure that the new accommodation is suitable for Mr. Ahmed’s needs and to manage the ongoing risk. Given his complex diagnosis, it may be a challenge to engage Mr. Ahmed in community programming and activities. The treatment team will have to explore this over the course of the next three to four months as Mr. Ahmed is transitioned to his residence.
Accordingly, having considered the four factors set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, namely the protection of the public, which is the paramount consideration, the mental condition of the accused, his reintegration into society and his other needs, the Board finds that a detention order continues to be the necessary and appropriate, and least onerous and least restrictive disposition in the circumstances, with the addition of the above-mentioned passes to Mr. Ahmed’s father’s home, up to 72 hours, with the prior approval of the person in charge or its designate.
The Board notes these very positive developments and improvements in Mr. Ahmed’s situation and we hope that these gains can be consolidated over the course of the next year.
DATED this 12th day of September 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. M. Labrosse
Alternate Chairperson
___________________
Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board