Re: Hewad Nazar
ORB File No: 8436
Hearing held on: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Via Zoom Videoconference
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(2.1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Ms. L. Banks Members: Dr. K. Hand Dr. M. Mamak Mr. A. Mete Ms. K. Weisbaum
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Hewad Nazar Counsel: Mr. C. Hynes
Hospital: Counsel: Mr. D. Blumenkrans
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. M. Feindel
REASONS FOR DECISION
(Dated January 23, 2026)
Decision
On November 27, 2023, Mr. Hewad Nazar was found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder on charges of carrying concealed weapon, weapons dangerous, fail to comply with release order, assault with a weapon, and uttering threats, all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (“Criminal Code”).
Mr. Nazar is subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the “Board” or “ORB”) dated July 15, 2025, which orders that he be detained at the Forensic Service of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (“CAMH” or “the Hospital”), with terms that include living in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
On November 3, 2025, the ORB received notice from Sham Hishmeh, Manager, Office of the Person in Charge at CAMH, advising that on October 24, 2025, Mr. Nazar was readmitted to the Hospital and detained on the FATU. At that time, he had remained in the Hospital for a period in excess of seven days. The letter was to be considered notice pursuant to s. 672.56(2) of the Criminal Code.
A panel of the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”) met on December 9, 2025, via Zoom videoconference. The purpose of the hearing was to review the restriction on Mr. Nazar’s liberties because of his admission to CAMH on October 24, 2025, and continuing as of the day of the hearing, December 9, 2025. The Board’s task was to determine if the restriction of liberty (“ROL”) imposed on Mr. Nazar was necessary and appropriate, as well as the least restrictive and least onerous intervention in the circumstances, both at the time it was imposed and throughout its duration.
Mr. Nazar was present at the hearing and represented by his counsel, Mr. C. Hynes. Mr. D. Blumenkrans represented the Hospital, and Mr. M. Feindel represented the Attorney General of Ontario.
Overview
- The circumstances of Mr. Nazar’s hospitalization are documented in the restriction of liberty report dated November 28, 2025. Briefly, Mr. Nazar contacted 911 on October 22, 2025. He was brought to the Emergency Room (“ER”) at Scarborough Health Network by EMS ambulance. He reported to ER staff that he was suicidal and was admitted on a “Form 1” under the Mental Health Act due to his presentation and history of violence. On October 24, 2025, Mr. Nazar was discharged with a diagnosis of cannabis induced psychosis. He was transferred to the forensic assessment and triage unit (“FATU”) at CAMH where he still resided on the day of the hearing.
Without Prejudice Positions of the Parties
At the commencement of the hearing, all parties were canvassed as to their initial recommendations to the Board.
Counsel for the Hospital, Mr. Blumenkrans, stated the position that the restriction of liberty imposed on Mr. Nazar from October 24, 2025, was necessary and appropriate and in the circumstances of the case, represented the least onerous and least restrictive decision available, and continued to be so as of the day of the hearing. Mr. Feindel, on behalf of the Attorney General, stated agreement with the position of the Hospital. Following a brief breakout session with his client, Mr. Hynes was also able to confirm agreement with the position of the Hospital.
All parties maintained their initial joint recommendation to the Board in closing submissions and all parties confirmed that there was no need to review the terms of Mr. Nazar’s existing Disposition.
Issues
- Pursuant to the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Regina vs. M.L.C. (2010 ONCA 843), the Board must consider not only the reason for the restriction and the initial decision to impose a restriction but also the ongoing circumstances of the accused for the period of time that the restriction remains in place, including up to the time of review. The initial restriction of liberty and ongoing restriction of liberty must be the least onerous and least restrictive necessary for public safety and for the accused.
Index Offence
Mr. Nazar’s index offence included: Carry Concealed Weapon; Possession of Firearm; Weapons Dangerous; Uttering Threats; Failure to Comply with Release Order.
The following are the facts related to the index offence, taken from the most recent Reasons for Disposition, dated August 6, 2025:
“Background
On September 23rd, 2020, the accused, Hewad NAZAR, was arrested and charged with assault. He was subsequently released on a Form 10 which stipulated several conditions that he agreed to abide by including but not limited to:
You must not possess a firearm, crossbow, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, prohibited ammunition or explosive substance, and you must surrender those that are in your possession and also any authorization, licence or registration certificate or other document enabling you to acquire or possess them.”
Synopsis
“On Thursday November 12th, 2020, at approximately 7:00pm the accused, Hewad NAZAR entered Habibiz Cafe located at 1994 Lawrence Ave E in the City of Toronto. The accused proceeded to order shisha and subsequently became involved in a verbal argument with staff members. During the course of the argument the accused became increasingly irate and produced a black handgun from a jacket he was carrying. While shouting at the staff members to "run their shit," Mr. Nazar removed a handgun from his pocket before concealing it again in the waistband of his pants. The accused then made a pistol gesture with his thumb and pointer finger and directed it at the victim, Gagan SINGH. The handgun then fell from the accused's waistband, through his pants and onto the floor. The accused picked up the handgun, left the cafe and was last seen leaving the parking lot in a blue car.
Responding officers obtained video footage of the incident from the cafe and while still at the scene the accused returned to the parking lot on foot and was arrested. During a search of the accused, incident to arrest, a set of car keys were located. Officers used the keys to activate the panic alarm and subsequently located a blue Toyota Corolla bearing Ontario
licence plate CDXA786 in the nearby parking lot of 2032 Lawrence Ave E. The vehicle was subsequently seized by police and towed to 41 Division pending a search warrant.
The police executed the search warrant on November 14, 2020, and found the following items: a jacket matching the description on the video; a pellet gun loaded with pellets and a C02 cartridge; the packaging for an Umarex BB Gun; driver’s license of Mr. Nazar; a black cross body bag with a bag of C02 cannisters and a package of pellets for the pistol; and a bow.”
Background Information
- Mr. Nazar’s personal background/psychiatric history are taken from last year’s Reasons for Disposition dated August 6, 2025:
“Mr. Nazar was born in Toronto. His parents divorced when he was 12 years of age, and he has a younger sister. He has never married and has no children.
Mr. Nazar completed high school and attended McMaster University for one year. He worked as a security guard for approximately two years, after discontinuing his university education. He has not worked since the age of 18 and supports himself financially through ODSP, which he began receiving at the age of 21, following a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Mr. Nazar smokes one package per day of tobacco cigarettes and has self-reported having stopped smoking cannabis at the age of 19. He has denied using any illicit substances or ever consuming alcohol.
Mr. Nazar was charged with assault on September 23, 2020. According to the Hospital Report, Mr. Nazar’s mother reported that the incident involved an altercation with a friend that lived in their apartment building and as a result her son was placed on probation until May or June 2023. On May 6th and November 30, 2022, Mr. Nazar was convicted of failing to comply with a release order and received a conditional discharge and probation on each conviction.
Around the age of 20, Mr. Nazar began seeing a psychiatrist approximately one year after he stopped his university education. On June 5, 2018, he was brought to the emergency at Michael Garron Hospital (“MGH”) by his mother because he was anxious and paranoid. He endorsed auditory hallucinations, receiving messages from neighbours and the television, and was worried about his family’s safety.
Mr. Nazar attended outpatient appointments at M.G.H. from September to December 2018. He continued to endorse command auditory hallucinations, thought control and delusional beliefs. He was subsequently connected with Dr. Okyere, a psychiatrist who diagnosed him with schizophrenia and continued to see him every three weeks for approximately two years.
On August 20, 2019, Dr. Okyere referred Mr. Nazar to CAMH’s Slaight Centre for a psychiatric consult, upon request from family, who wanted a second opinion that included a cultural perspective. At that time, Mr. Nazar saw Dr. Kennedy and continued to endorse thought insertion, thought withdrawal, thought broadcasting, and auditory hallucinations. He specifically endorsed being able to hear his mother’s thoughts and feel people’s energy. Dr. Kennedy offered a provisional diagnosis of cannabis use disorder in early remission and unspecified schizophrenia spectrum disorder.
Mr. Nazar was being treated with antipsychotic medications, Clozaril and injectable Invega for the year leading up to his index offences, which occurred on November 12, 2020.
Following the commission of the index offences, and prior to the NCR verdict on November 27, 2023, Mr. Nazar had several hospital admissions which notably included:
July 21-August 14, 2023: Mr. Nazar was brought to the emergency by his mother, who had concerns about him being threatening towards her and his sister and was verbally assaultive toward his father. Mr. Nazar had not attended the injection clinic to receive his long-acting medication in the days prior and there were concerns about Mr. Nazar’s compliance with prescribed treatment.
August 19-September 15, 2023: EMS brought Mr. Nazar to hospital after he contacted 911 complaining of abdominal pain. When emergency services arrived, they found Mr. Nazar ‘confused and acutely psychotic’. Mr. Nazar’s family informed that he had been both physically and verbally threatening towards his mother and sister; threatening to kill his mother and throwing objects. Mr. Nazar presented himself as paranoid, thinking that his mother and sister were impostors and that his uncle was speaking into his head. He endorsed violent ideation towards his uncle and ongoing auditory hallucinations.
September 15-October 2, 2023: Paramedics brought Mr. Nazar to the emergency department after his family contacted 911, due to concerns for his safety. Mr. Nazar endorsed auditory hallucinations commanding him to jump off the 35th floor balcony of the family home. He also endorsed becoming upset from messages he was receiving from the TV. As per collateral he was becoming aggressive, agitated and verbally abusive. He was stating he wanted to “kill” his neighbours and family members.
October 5-November 13, 2023: Mr. Nazar was taken to hospital via EMS after his mother contacted 911. He had wanted to take the car keys, was rambling and endorsing seeing an angel commanding him to jump off the balcony. His mother requested a discharge to a group home because she was unable to manage her son at home. The treatment team noted that the patient demonstrated irritability and aggressiveness targeted towards his mother.”
Diagnosis
- Mr. Nazar’s current diagnosis is Schizophrenia vs Schizoaffective disorder, Bipolar Type.
Evidence
In response to questions from Mr. Blumenkrans, with respect to the report and joint recommendation before the Board, Mr. Nazar’s outpatient psychiatrist, Dr. Igoumenou, stated that Mr. Nazar is still detained in the FATU at the Hospital. He is currently settled in the unit. His dose of his antipsychotic medication is being increased in order to reduce his symptoms. The goal is to address his recent sexually disinhibited behaviours and provide him with education about the use cannabis, in order to get him back out into the community, rather than reestablish him with a new team in the Hospital.
With respect to when he will be returning to the community, Dr. Igoumenou stated that there is no timeline as yet. Mr. Nazar experiences residual symptoms of psychosis, even when compliant with his injectable antipsychotic medication. When he first presented with psychotic symptoms, he had smoked cannabis around October 22, 2025, and his symptoms deteriorated. The Hospital waited for the cannabis to clear his system in order to assess whether he required any titration up of his antipsychotic medication dose. As well, his sexually inappropriate behaviours need to be assessed, with recommendations about how to address them.
Dr. Igoumenou stated that Mr. Nazar was residing in a private group home prior to October 24, 2025. His accommodation is secure and will be available to him upon discharge, whenever discharge is appropriate.
In response to questions from Mr. Feindel, Dr. Igoumenou stated that with respect to exercising privileges off the FATU, Mr. Nazar has only been able to spend time in the Hospital yard for fresh air regularly. His mental status is being assessed every day. To her knowledge, in the approximately 1.5 months on the FATU, there have been no recommendations from his in-patient team for Mr. Nazar to be granted more liberal passes. This is because Mr. Nazar’s sexually inappropriate behaviours have been unpredictable, as are the emergence of psychotic command hallucinations he continues to experience. The doctor reported that Mr. Nazar has ongoing symptoms, for example, hearing the voice of “the angel of death” from time to time, as well as having some experiences suggesting he engage in violence towards other people or himself. Mr. Nazar has been transparent about disclosing these occurrences and expresses that he does not want to hurt anyone. The team is hesitant to grant further privileges because of this unpredictability and the instability in his clinical presentation.
Even if Mr. Nazar had been on a different unit, over the 1.5 months that he has been in the Hospital, Mr. Nazar could not have exercised level 1 passes. The current hope for Mr. Nazar is that he can transition from the FATU back to his residence. Dr. Igoumenou is Mr. Nazar’s psychiatrist in the community and they work together well. It should be easy to transfer him
back to the community with follow up by the forensic outpatient team. If it takes longer than expected and his discharge is not imminent, he will be transferred to a different unit where he could be given passes. Mr. Nazar’s psychiatrist on the FATU is currently Dr. L. Eid.
With respect to why Mr. Nazar is currently exhibiting sexually inappropriate and disinhibited behaviours, Dr. Igoumenou stated that based on assessments to date, Mr. Nazar’s current behaviours are mainly driven by disinhibition and impulsivity, related to schizophrenia, as well as a lack of awareness of social norms, or some cognitive issues related to schizophrenia. The team’s intention is to conduct therapy and/or psychoeducation with Mr. Nazar about what constitutes appropriate behaviour. (Dr. Igoumenou also works at the sexual behaviours clinic.)
Dr. Igoumenou stated that she had not observed sexually inappropriate behaviours in Mr. Nazar since January of last year when she first began to work with him. There have been no reports of related issues from his residence. He has his own room at his residence and so can be private with his sexual activities, but during his time in the Hospital, it has been a bit confusing for him regarding what is and what is not allowed in shared spaces and education on these issues has not yet started. The doctor noted that Mr. Nazar does not have any history of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
Dr. Igoumanou stated that Mr. Nazar’s treatment team would like to increase his antipsychotic medications. Mr. Nazar is open to that, but his mother, who acts as his substitute decision maker (“SDM”) has historically not been inclined to consent to an increase in his medication. The team also wants to see that Mr. Nazar continues to be compliant with his antipsychotic medication with no other incidents of concern and optimize his medication in conjunction with working with his SDM. Mr. Nazar remains incapable with respect to treatment with antipsychotic medication, for which he was last assessed on December 1, 2025.
Mr. Hynes had no questions.
In response to questions from the panel, Dr. Igoumanou stated that she did not know of any other level of passes that the team had offered to Mr. Nazar. As an outpatient psychiatrist, her understanding was that other levels of passes require being on a different unit from the one that Mr. Nazar is on currently.
Dr. Igoumanou stated that Mr. Nazar has a long-standing diagnosis of schizophrenia. There
has been some assessment with respect to whether he has autism spectrum disorder, but no resolution of that as yet. Mr. Nazar was very independent prior to the onset of his psychosis and diagnosis. Whether or not he has autism spectrum disorder is something that the team would like to address and clarify in the future when Mr. Nazar is an outpatient.
Dr. Igoumanou stated that she completed the psychosexual assessment of Mr. Nazar on November 24, 2025. Prior to returning to his community residence, the team wants to complete the sexual assessment process to consider any further risk issues and then conduct an assessment of Mr. Nazar’s capacity to consent with respect to sexual activities.
The were no other questions from the parties.
Closing Submissions
In their submissions, the parties maintained their original joint recommendation that the restriction of liberty on Mr. Nazar was necessary and appropriate, as well as the least onerous and least restrictive option, both at the time it was implemented and continuing to the day of the hearing.
Mr. Feindel noted that Mr. Nazar has been on the FATU for over six weeks and has had no privileges except for access to the secure yard for fresh air. Should the detention continue, the Hospital should consider expanding Mr. Nazar’s privileges beyond what they are currently, including escorted passes. Mr. Feindel asked that this item be explicitly highlighted in the reasons.
Mr. Hynes echoed Mr. Feindel, noting that it is up to the Hospital to move Mr. Nazar as expeditiously and liberally as appropriate, given the Hospital’s obligations. He also endorsed this item be explicitly highlighted in the Board’s reasons.
Analysis
In considering each issue, the Board reviewed the Hospital record (June 12, 2025), the Reasons for Disposition (August 6, 2025), the Restriction of Liberty Report (November 28, 2025), as well as the viva voce evidence of Dr. Igoumanou.
The Board accepts the oral evidence of Dr. Igoumanou, the Hospital Report and the ROL Report and finds merit in the joint recommendation of the parties.
As documented in the ROL Report and reflected in the evidence of Dr. Igoumanou, when Mr. Nazar was admitted to Hospital, he was experiencing worsening of his psychotic symptoms and suicidal ideation in the context of using cannabis. Given his psychiatric and offending history and presentation, further observation was warranted. Even if Mr. Nazar had been on a different unit, he could not have exercised level 1 passes, reflecting the instability of his condition. His mental state continues to be fragile. He presents with residual psychotic symptoms and occasional sexually inappropriate behaviours, which are new.
The evidence showed that Mr. Nazar’s team has a plan of care that will help him progress towards being stable such that he can be discharged back to his community residence; for example, Dr. Igoumanou has completed a psychosexual assessment, with next steps being
to provide him with psychoeducation around sexually appropriate behaviours and related consent issues. The team is working on increasing his antipsychotic medication and striving to collaborate with his SDM. This work is ongoing.
- As Mr. Nazar’s outpatient psychiatrist, Dr. Igoumanou was not in a position to comment on the practice at CAMH with respect to advancing individuals through progressive levels of privileges. To date, Mr. Nazar has been on the FATU for over six weeks. His privileges are limited to spending time in the secure yard of CAMH to get fresh air. While he is still unstable, his time on the FATU has been without significant incident. Mr. Nazar, if he is not yet ready, will likely be ready to receive more privileges imminently. The Board assumes that the Hospital recognizes the extent of the limits on Mr. Nazar’s privileges while in the FATU and that it will expeditiously consider expanding his privileges beyond what they are currently, including escorted passes.
Conclusion
Considering the foregoing, the panel finds that the restriction placed on Mr. Nizar’s liberties occasioned by his admission to the Hospital on October 24, 2025, and continuing as of the day of the hearing on December 9, 2025, was necessary and appropriate, as well as the least onerous and least restrictive intervention available to the Hospital in the circumstances, both at the time it was imposed and throughout its duration.
The Board wishes Mr. Nazar well as he continues to make progress in transitioning back to his community residence.
In making this decision, the panel has considered the need to protect the public from dangerous persons, Mr. Nazar’s current mental state, his reintegration into society and his other needs.
DATED this 23rd day of January, 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. K. Weisbaum Legal Member
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Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board