Re Gregory Narine, 2026 CanLII 18257

Re: Gregory Narine

ORB File No: 7193

Hearing held on: Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Ms. C. Finley

Members: Dr. G. Chaimowitz Dr. L. Leong Ms. M. L. Bridger Mr. S. Doherty

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Gregory Narine Counsel: Ms. M. Perez

The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Mr. D. Blumenkrans

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. R. Weinberg

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated March 2, 2026)

Introduction

1. On July 26, 2017, Gregory Narine was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on a charge of second-degree murder, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. He is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“ORB/the Board”) dated January 23, 2025, detaining him at the Forensic Service of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH/the hospital”) with discretionary privileges up to and including the ability to reside in the community in supervised accommodation.

2. On January 20, 2026, the Board convened a hearing to conduct the annual review of Mr. Narine’s disposition pursuant to s.672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Narine was present and represented by his counsel, Ms. Perez. Mr. Narine’s sister also was present.

3. At the outset of the proceedings, all parties submitted that Mr. Narine remains a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a discharge with conditions, including that he not be in possession of any weapons and that any travel outside of Ontario be with a prior approved itinerary. Ms. Perez specifically indicated that Mr. Narine was not contesting that he currently represents a significant threat.

Findings

4. For the reasons that follow, the panel found that Mr. Narine remains a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a conditional discharge, with the conditions as recommended by the parties.

The Evidence

5. The evidence at the hearing consisted of the Hospital Report, dated January 8, 2026 (ex. 1), and the viva voce evidence of Dr. Ali, Mr. Narine’s Most Responsible Physician.

The Index Offence

6. On August 3, 2016, Mr. Narine stabbed his father in the chest, back and hand, resulting in his father’s death.

Background Information

7. The Hospital Report contains detailed information as to Mr. Narine’s personal history and psychiatric care and need not be reviewed in detail in these reasons beyond the following material facts.

8. Mr. Narine is a sixty-seven-year-old man who was born in Trinidad. He came to Canada with his family at the age of twelve. He has always lived with his parents. After graduating from high school, he attended the then Ryerson Institute of Technology studying mechanical engineering technology but found it too difficult and dropped out. He later received a diploma in numerical control program from Humber College. Mr. Narine had a number of short-term manual labour jobs. He last worked in 1996 for Canada Post.

9. Mr. Narine was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1986. He reported hearing voices that told him to kill people and included other command hallucinations. Over the years, he had multiple admissions to hospital and was treated with various antipsychotic medications. He underwent electroconvulsive therapy (“ECT”) in 1984 and in 1992. His mother reported that Mr. Narine had always complied with taking his medication over the years, until a few weeks prior to the incident. Mr. Narine reported that he had been noncompliant with medication for approximately three weeks prior to the index offence. At the time, he felt that the medication was not helping him. The voices returned within one day of discontinuing his medication.

10. Mr. Narine was admitted to CAMH in August 2017, following the NCR finding. While in hospital, Mr. Narine presented with significant negative symptoms of his illness. He rarely engaged or interacted with peers or staff. He would spend the majority of his time lying in bed in the dark with the door to his room propped open, likely to avoid having to ask security to open his room door.

11. In August 2022, Mr. Narine was discharged to LOFT transitional housing. Mr. Narine has been consistently compliant with medication, and his mental status has remained stable. However, he has continued to experience residual symptoms of paranoia and other delusional thoughts, in addition to his prominent negative symptoms.

Course Since the Last Disposition

12. Mr. Narine’s current diagnosis is schizophrenia, and his prescribed medication is Clozapine. He continues to be supported by Dr. Ali and the Forensic Outpatient Service, and Dr Cavanagh, the psychiatrist onsite at LOFT who prescribes his current medication. Mr. Narine receives assistance from staff at the residence, including with his activities of daily living.

13. Mr. Narine’s mother and sister visit him regularly and are a significant source of support for him. His sister also takes him to visit other family members in the community.

14. Mr. Narine’s insight remains limited. At times, he acknowledges that he has a mental illness, however, he does not believe that he needs to continue his medications. He has spoken of not taking medications in the future.

15. Mr. Narine frequently speaks of returning to live in Trinidad. His family has indicated there are no plans for such a move and they would not be supportive in that regard.

16. Dr Ali testified before the Board. She indicated that the team was still looking for permanent housing for Mr. Narine and he is currently on several wait lists. Dr Ali indicated that due to the nature of the index offence and his residual symptoms of paranoia, Mr. Narine will require a single room. He will also require support for medication administration and personal care.

17. Dr. Ali indicated that although Mr. Narine continues to experience prominent negative symptoms, his engagement with the team and participation in activities has improved.

18. When asked if the hospital requires the ability to approve accommodation, Dr. Ali testified that, given Mr. Narine’s presentation over the last few years and the difficulty in securing appropriate housing for him, that should not preclude him from moving to a conditional discharge.

19. When asked if the Mental Health Act would suffice to allow the hospital to manage Mr. Narine’s risk should he experience a deterioration in his mental status, Dr. Ali indicated that the team has had more time to observe Mr. Narine in the community. Should his mental status change, in her opinion, the Mental Health Act would be sufficient to bring him into hospital. In addition, Mr. Narine is currently receiving significant support and Dr. Ali does not anticipate a deterioration in his mental status. He has someone monitoring him around the clock and he is currently being supported by three different agencies: the forensic outpatient team, the housing staff, and his transitional case management worker.

20. At the conclusion of the evidence, all parties maintained the joint submission, including the weapons prohibition.

Analysis and Conclusion

21. The panel carefully considered the Hospital Report and the evidence of Dr. Ali and unanimously concludes that Mr. Narine remains a significant threat to the safety of the public. Mr. Narine’s risk flows from his diagnosis of schizophrenia. When unwell, Mr. Narine experiences auditory hallucinations that are command in nature, directing him to kill others. At the time of the index offence, Mr. Narine had stopped taking his medication three weeks before. He had a rapid and significant deterioration in his mental status. His past actions evidence that, should that recur, the severity of any future violence could be extreme.

22. Having found that the threshold for significant threat has been met, the panel also had to determine the necessary and appropriate disposition taking into consideration the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code. The panel found that at this time a conditional discharge is the necessary and appropriate disposition to manage Mr. Narine’s risk to the public.

23. Even when compliant with treatment, Mr. Narine continues to experience residual psychotic symptoms, including paranoia and delusional thought. However, this has been the case for a number of years. The treatment team has observed and supported Mr. Narine through his transition to living in the community with no reports of concerning behaviour. Although his negative symptoms remain prominent, Mr. Narine has become more engaged with the staff and has participated in activities both at the residence and through the forensic outpatient program. Three different programs currently are involved in his daily care.

24. The panel accepts Dr. Ali’s opinion that the Mental Health Act would be sufficient to bring Mr. Narine to hospital, should he experience a deterioration in his mental status. Further, by all accounts, Mr. Narine is content at his current housing and has no plans to leave. The panel accepts Dr. Ali’s evidence that Mr. Narine will work cooperatively with the treatment team should appropriate permanent housing become available.

25. Therefore, taking into consideration the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which includes the need to protect the public from dangerous persons, the mental condition of the accused, the reintegration of the accused into society and the other needs of the accused, the panel finds that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a discharge with conditions that he report not less than once every two weeks, refrain from possession a weapon or firearm, he notify the hospital and the ORB of any change in address or phone number, and that he remain within the province of Ontario, unless first obtaining approval of his itinerary.

DATED this 2nd day of March, 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.

Ms. C. Finley Alternate Chairperson

__________________ Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board