Re: Shawn Sutherland
ORB File No: 7981
Hearing held on: Friday, January 16, 2026
Place of hearing: North Bay Regional Health Centre
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. P. Hageraats
Members: Dr. J. Watts
Dr. G. Stones
Ms. M. Chamberlain
Ms. C. Plyley via video conference
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Shawn Sutherland
Counsel: Ms. T. Raftery (for Mr. C. Bracken)
Person in charge of Hospital: Representative: Ms. J. Doyon Counsel Mr. P. Trenker
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. D. McCaig
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated February 23, 2026)
Introduction:
Mr. Shawn Sutherland appeared in court charged with several offences under the Criminal Code of Canada: assault (x4), assault with a weapon, causing disturbance in a public place (x3), assaulting a peace officer, utter threat to cause death or bodily harm, (x2), mischief under $5000, indecent acts (x3) and resisting or obstructing public or peace officer. The offences arose on various dates between January and April of 2020 in Timmins, Ontario.
On December 2, 2021, the court received expert psychiatric testimony establishing that Mr. Sutherland was suffering from a severe mental disorder when he committed the offences. Based on that evidence, the court ruled he was not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”).
Mr. Sutherland is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“ORB” or ‘the Board’) dated January 17, 2025. He was ordered to be detained at the Forensic Programs of the North Bay Regional Health Centre (“NBRHC” or the “Hospital”). Mr. Sutherland remains on inpatient status and is subject to conditions. He was awarded the privilege, with hospital approval, of residing at a 24-hour supervised accommodation in the Province of Ontario.
On January 16, 2026, the Board convened at the hospital to conduct an annual review. Mr. Sutherland was present. He was represented by counsel, Ms. Tara Raftery, appearing as agent for Mr. Chad Bracken.
At the hearing, documents were filed in evidence, including the most recent Hospital Report, dated December 16, 2025.
The issues to be determined are whether Mr. Sutherland continues to present a significant risk to the safety of the public, and, if so, to arrive at the necessary and appropriate disposition.
When the hearing began, counsel for all three parties presented a joint submission. They agreed that the issue of significant threat was not in dispute and that last year’s disposition should be renewed. For the reasons set out below, the Board adopted the joint submission.
Index Offences:
- The circumstances are described in the Hospital Report and in last year’s Reasons, dated March 20, 2025. In summary:
On January 6, 2020, shortly before noon, the complainant, Ms. VF, was on her lunch break coming out of a local cigar store on Third Avenue. Mr. Sutherland was a client at the nearby bank where she worked. When he saw her leave the store, he started to yell and swear at her. He screamed, “Come here” and began swearing and becoming more verbally aggressive. Ms. VF feared for her safety. She was already aware that Mr. Sutherland can be violent. She ignored him and started to walk quickly back to the bank. He followed her. She managed to get inside before he could get closer. She told the security guard what had happened and asked for the police to be called.
When the police arrived, Ms. VF was still shaking visibly. She said she was extremely fearful due to Mr. Sutherland’s actions. She provided a video statement. By then, Mr. Sutherland had left. The police sought a warrant for his arrest.
At the time, Mr. Sutherland was bound by a court-ordered term of probation requiring that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
On January 31, 2020, Timmins police officers arrested Mr. Sutherland for having caused a disturbance and failure to comply with his probation order. He was released on an undertaking requiring his attendance in court. At the court date of February 18, 2020, he failed to appear and was charged.
On March 3, 2020, at about 9 a.m., Mr. Sutherland went to the “Your Independent Grocer” on Algonquin Boulevard. He tried to purchase liquor from a salesclerk, Ms. KK. He was asked to produce identification as proof of age. He uttered to the clerk, “I’m going to punch you in the fucking face”. As he left the store, he began to yell obscenities like “fuck”, attracting the attention of other patrons to his commotion.
On March 23, 2020, shortly after noon hour, Mr. Sutherland was a resident at Living Space, a homeless shelter on Cedar Street. A staff member, Ms. TB, told patrons the shelter was closed for cleaning and that they had to leave for a few hours. Upon hearing this, Mr. Sutherland became irate. He was angry because some of his clothing items were in the washer and not yet dry. He demanded staff give him his clothes immediately. They told him it was not safe for him to wear wet clothes outside and that his clothes would be dry by the time he came back. Ms. TB used her foot to move Mr. Sutherland’s slippers out from under his cot so that he could put them on and leave.
Mr. Sutherland spat in her face, striking her on the eyes, lips and mouth. He barged towards the victim, cornered her against the wall and closed the office door. He grabbed her by the right arm and raised his fist in an aggressive manner, threatening to punch her. Two other staff members intervened.
Mr. Sutherland was given his wet clothes. He then took off all his clothes in the presence of the three female staff members, right in the common area. This contravened the shelter’s code of conduct for patrons who are expected to change in the bathroom. Police were called but Mr. Sutherland had left the area before they arrived. Soon after, at 1:30 p.m., Constable Watson located Mr. Sutherland at the nearby Scotiabank. He was drinking a can of Laker beer in public.
Constable Watson told Mr. Sutherland he was under arrest for assault. Mr. Sutherland began to walk away. The officer took physical control of Mr. Sutherland who then became actively resistant. The officer told Mr. Sutherland to stop resisting but he kept flexing his arms and pulling away. Another officer arrived and assisted to secure Mr. Sutherland in handcuffs. While being searched, Mr. Sutherland spat at the first officer who was able to avoid being struck. Upon being brought to the Timmins Police Service location, Mr. Sutherland was subsequently released on an undertaking requiring his appearance in court.
On April 29, 2020, Mr. Sutherland attended the Timmins local hospital. While there, he was denied access to go outside for a cigarette due to policies surrounding his isolation. He became agitated and escalated to the point of punching a window, causing damage estimated at $400 value. In addition to committing the offence of mischief, Mr. Sutherland was again breaching his probation condition to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
Further occurrences, arising between June 11 and October 20, 2020, are described in the hospital report.
Personal Background:
Mr. Sutherland is 40. His personal, psychiatric and legal history are described in the Hospital Report. He is an Indigenous man who was born in Hearst, Ontario. His parents raised him on the Calstock First Nations Reserve. At the age of six or seven, the parents separated. Mr. Sutherland has two brothers, two half-sisters and a half-brother. He is supported through welfare benefits under ODSP. His funds are managed by the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (“PGT”).
Following the separation of his parents, Mr. Sutherland continued to live with his mother. He went to school but quit in the sixth grade. His mother was supportive until Mr. Sutherland began to use drugs at about the age of 14 when they began to argue and he became more physically aggressive. Initially, he would hit or break objects. As time progressed, he directed his violence to other persons. Following an assault on his mother, he moved in with his father.
Mr. Sutherland held a job at age 16, planting trees in Northern Ontario for a week. He has no other employment history.
Mr. Sutherland has a significant history of drug abuse. He reported use of hash oil and marijuana daily from the age of 14. He made frequent use of cocaine for about a year in the time before his first hospital admission in December 2002 to the Northeast Mental Health Centre in North Bay. Mr. Sutherland has a history of sniffing gas at up to three times daily during the winter of 2002. He has developed addictions to cannabis, alcohol, amphetamines, and cocaine.
Legal History:
Mr. Sutherland began to incur adult criminal convictions in 2019. These include possession of a weapon, mischief under $5000, assault x2, fail to comply and fail to appear. At times, he has engaged in criminal behaviour to support his drug use.
In 2002, Mr. Sutherland had his first NCR finding. He had assaulted his mother, was having auditory hallucinations, was paranoid, and was hearing voices telling him to hurt his grandmother. Mr. Sutherland remained under the jurisdiction of the ORB until 2008, when he was granted an Absolute Discharge.
In December 2021, when Mr. Sutherland was again found NCR, his mental health symptoms were described as refractory and treatment resistant. His capacity to exercise good judgement and maintain prosocial behaviours were disproportionately influenced by Schizophrenia.
Psychiatric History:
Mr. Sutherland was first involved with the mental health system in 2002 when he was 16. He reported having attempted suicide on at least four earlier occasions (twice by cutting his wrists and twice by attempting to shoot himself). The first psychiatric admission, between February 12 to March 6, 2002, was at the Regional Children’s Psychiatric Centre in Sudbury, Ontario. He displayed suicidal ideation, aggression, and needed stabilization of psychosis. Placed on antipsychotic medication, Mr. Sutherland responded well over a period of three weeks.
The next psychiatric hospitalization was from December 11, 2002, until January 7, 2003, at the North Bay Forensic Hospital (“NBFH”), Forensic Program, for a court-ordered assessment of criminal responsibility. He was facing charges of assault, careless use of a firearm, carry weapons, and two counts of uttering threats. Found NCR on those charges, he remained under the care of Forensic Mental Health Services in North Bay until March 11, 2008, when he was granted an Absolute Discharge. By then, Mr. Sutherland was living in independent accommodation and sharing with a roommate, while under the care of the Assertive Community Treatment Team (“ACTT”).
Further hospital admissions and contacts from 2018 to 2020 are detailed in the Hospital Report at pp. 11-15. Before the 2020 index offences arose, Mr. Sutherland’s Schizophrenia had become refractory due to several destabilizers. These included non-compliance to medications, non-compliance to services, psychosocial stressors, unstable living conditions, and addiction to illicit substances and alcohol.
Course in Treatment, January 2024 to January 2025:
Dr. Stephanie Le has been Mr. Sutherland’s treating forensic psychiatrist since early January 2025. Mr. Sutherland was assessed as capable to make treatment decisions. He was receiving oral Clozapine antipsychotic medication, at a dosage of 500 mg daily. This was augmented with two other oral antipsychotic medications. In addition, he was prescribed two PRN (as needed) medications, including Olanzapine to manage agitation, anxiety, intrusive thoughts and auditory hallucinations.
At last year’s ORB hearing held on January 16, 2025, Mr. Sutherland was noted to have a history of medication non-compliance leading to rapid decompensations in his mental state.
A year ago, the Hospital was concerned that Mr. Sutherland had been cheeking medications. His psychotic symptoms were worsening. Increased impulsivity was observed. He was responding to internal stimuli and showing psychomotor agitation. The hospital took steps to monitor Mr. Sutherland more carefully when he was given medication. Following this, Dr. Le was satisfied that, beyond a simple mouth check, medication administration no longer needed to be under direct staff observation. Medication levels in Mr. Sutherland’s system returned to the therapeutic range.
While remaining capable to consent to treatment, Mr. Sutherland was described as having extremely limited insight into his mental illness, the need for treatment, and the impact of substance use on his mental health. However, he was receptive to health teaching and appeared to have some, although limited, understanding of the role of medication. Mr. Sutherland continued to experience refractory symptoms and perceptual disturbances even while in compliance with prescribed medications. Presenting as emotionally blunted and easily distracted, disorganized and guarded, he preferred to isolate himself and to engage minimally with others.
Dr. Le was concerned about Mr. Sutherland’s food intake. Command hallucinations discouraged him from eating. He needed ongoing monitoring and staff assistance. Without this, the treatment team feared he would stop eating altogether.
Mr. Sutherland reported that “voices” allowed him to drink Ensure at the same time as he would refuse other food items. He struggled to ignore the command hallucinations. Treatment team staff helped alleviate his symptoms. This saw him eat a bit more than before. With much staff monitoring and support, Mr. Sutherland avoided losing more body weight.
Last year’s Hospital Report identified several risk factors. Mr. Sutherland suffered from a severe and persistent mental disorder, Schizophrenia, which has been refractory and treatment resistant. His Schizophrenia presented with positive and negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. Manifestations of the illness included auditory hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, misinterpretation of both internal and external stimuli, poverty of thought and speech. He also exhibited incoherent speech, poor social performance or self-care and poor non-verbal communication. He was experiencing hallucinations, some command in nature, leading to unpredictable behaviours that lack self-restraint and control. He could not exercise appropriate judgement and behaved irrationally and aggressively when unwell.
The report also noted the history of using inhalants, cocaine, speed, cannabis and alcohol. Mr. Sutherland had previously endorsed believing that substances have no bearing on his mental health. His level of dysfunction in the community, including irrational, bizarre, aggressive and indecent behaviour had resulted in community support agencies, including a homeless shelter, banning him from attending. Before his admission to the NBRHC, Mr. Sutherland had been living a transient lifestyle. He had limited community support and limited contact with family.
Course in Treatment, January 17, 2025, to January 16, 2026:
Mr. Sutherland remains capable of consenting to treatment. He continues to adhere to his prescribed medication regimen, although his insight into his mental illness and the need for ongoing treatment remains limited. Routine post-administration mouth checks support medication adherence.
During the current reporting year, Mr. Sutherland has been generally cooperative, calm and pleasant. He demonstrates limited emotional range and a tendency to social withdrawal. He will show distractibility, disorganization, and occasional guardedness, engaging minimally with peers and staff. Psychiatric symptoms remain resistant to treatment despite an optimized medication regime.
Mr. Sutherland reports persistent command auditory hallucinations. While he minimizes their impact, they significantly affect his nutritional intake and daily functioning. He struggles to follow directions and adhere to routines. At mealtimes, he can become impulsive, irritable and argumentative. Multiple incidents on the Aggressive Incident Scale relate to negotiation around food intake and are exacerbated by heightened psychotic symptoms and anxiety. As per the Hospital report, a psychotically motivated eating disorder has been identified as Mr. Sutherland’s primary challenge.
Given Mr. Sutherland’s ongoing hallucinations and behavioural disturbances, the treatment team is making ongoing adjustments and medication trials to address his complex concerning behaviours.
Mr. Sutherland has intermittently participated in group programming and therapeutic activities. He prefers to exercise privileges when supervised indirectly. Ongoing difficulties with food hoarding, financial management, and group participation have been identified. Occupational therapy and exposure interventions have led to gradual improvement in managing internal stimuli while supporting a higher level of engagement. Mr. Sutherland continues to require intensive support, close supervision and individualized interventions to address ongoing challenges in daily function and therapeutic engagement.
In August 2025, a co-patient assaulted Mr. Sutherland without provocation. In the leadup to the incident, there may have been some verbal confrontation going on between the two. To his credit, Mr. Sutherland showed good judgement and did not retaliate. He remained emotionally stable during the incident and coped well after. Seen by a doctor, it was confirmed that Mr. Sutherland was not injured.
In November 2025, Mr. Sutherland was responding to internal stimuli and demonstrating catatonic symptoms. These included prolonged posturing and unresponsiveness. Ativan was administered as needed. Privileges were suspended to allow for closer monitoring of his mental status.
Throughout the reporting period, Mr. Sutherland enjoyed supervised access to hospital grounds and to the community in a group setting. His indirect privileges within hospital grounds were regularly reviewed and adjusted in response to his requests and observed behaviours. He has continued using two one-hour periods of indirect privileges within the hospital, each morning and afternoon. On three separate occasions in the fall of 2025, these were suspended for up to 24 hours because of behavioural issues or clinical concerns, such as catatonia. More recently, Mr. Sutherland was granted an additional hour, after 4 p.m., to walk the ring road, indirectly supervised.
Mr. Sutherland requires daily staff support for his activities and nutritional intake. Cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBT-P) sessions is provided weekly. He is showing gradual improvement in participation and, importantly, in his ability to attend longer sessions. Mr. Sutherland has set a personal goal to participate more actively in group activities.
While the recreation team provides him with monthly opportunities to go out into the community, recreation remains challenging for Mr. Sutherland, particularly in group settings. Command hallucinations prompt him to yell out and make frequent requests to use the washroom. This limits his ability to engage more fully, even when he attends recreational activities in the hospital.
Current Violence Risk Assessment:
As noted in the Hospital Report, Dr. Le and the treatment team believe that Mr. Sutherland poses a significant threat to public safety. Along with the several listed factors contributing to increased risk, he suffers from a severe and persistent mental disorder, Schizophrenia which has been refractory and treatment resistant. His illness presents with positive and negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. Manifestations include auditory hallucinations, some of a command nature, which he struggles to ignore. Among the factors contributing to lower risk, Mr. Sutherland has not posed a management concern since his admission to the NBRHC. He has been medication-adherent since admission. He remains abstinent from substances within a controlled environment and engages in some programming. He acknowledges experiencing auditory command hallucinations.
Mr. Sutherland requires 24-7 supervision and comprehensive support to ensure treatment adherence and to mitigate the risk of harm to both himself and the public. The history demonstrates a high recidivism risk were he to be discharged from a structured forensic inpatient setting. Without ongoing monitoring, Mr. Sutherland is likely to discontinue treatment, disengage from services and relapse into substance use, further compromising his stability and safety. Ongoing intensive supervision remains essential to his stability and to public safety.
Current Psychiatric Diagnoses, Hospital Report p. 38
Schizophrenia
Stimulant Use Disorder, in sustained remission
- Mr. Sutherland is treated with psychiatric medications:
Clozapine 450mg po in the morning and 300mg po at bedtime
Brexpiprazole 4mg po daily
Cogentin 1mg po bid
Haldol 5mg po at 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM
Seroquel 50mg po 10:30 AM
Ativan 1mg po q4h PRN
Haldol 5mg po q8h PRN
Cogentin 1mg po bid PRN
Olanzapine 5mg po q6h PRN
Evidence at the Hearing:
The Board also received direct testimony from Dr. Stephanie Le, Forensic Psychiatrist with the NBRHC. She continues her involvement as Mr. Sutherland’s primarily involved psychiatrist and has been highly involved in developing and executing a team approach to address Mr. Sutherland’s special needs.
Dr. Le testified that Mr. Sutherland has made real progress this year. This is the result of the significant time and effort invested by Mr. Sutherland’s caregivers and staff. A major focus saw them implement a strategy encouraging Mr. Sutherland to deal with the stress he experiences from command and other hallucinations. Typically, voices tell him to leave the presence of others and to self-isolate. The voices tell him to not eat, which, as noted earlier, compromises his nutrition and physical health. Dr. Le and the team have been most concerned that Mr. Sutherland’s delusion-based food reduction could lead to a more severe state of malnutrition. They distinguish this behaviour from anorexia.
By way of intervention, caregivers are encouraging Mr. Sutherland to remain and sit where he is when with others. He is asked to do as much as he can to tolerate perceptual disturbances. With such coaching proceeding very slowly, the team has noticed consistent improvement in Mr. Sutherland’s ability to tolerate psychological discomfort.
Dr. Le explained to the panel that this new coaching approach has required a great deal of consultation and collaboration between hospital staff who are involved in Mr. Sutherland’s care. Favourable results are being seen around mealtime. Mr. Sutherland has been able to maintain something of an acceptable body weight. Medically speaking, blood level testing does not show any concerning results.
Dr. Le further testified that Mr. Sutherland recently disclosed a greater willingness to ingest food of better quality and in more appropriate amounts. In only the last week, to Dr. Le’s amazement, Mr. Sutherland told her he would be prepared to eat an entire meal. Coupled with this, she added, is the gratifying observation that Mr. Sutherland has now gained weight to within a normal range.
The hospital’s nutritional coaching strategy is ongoing. Dr. Le explained how they continue to have Mr. Sutherland remain seated while eating. Staff continue to encourage him to not run away from distress and to deal with anxiety which he continues to experience. Dr. Le acknowledged that much of their recent success is based on intense continued efforts by nursing staff, the dietitian, the behavioural therapist and the occupational therapist.
Responding to questions from both counsel for the Attorney General and for the patient, Dr. Le advised that community housing option is not yet feasible. Further progress is needed. Whether in or out of hospital, Mr. Sutherland will require significant ongoing support and supervision. When Mr. Sutherland is not well, he has outbursts with anxiety and can be violent. That said, with the current supports in place, the team has not seen such behaviours. According to Dr. Le, his overall risk remains high.
For Mr. Sutherland to progress further, the treatment team needs to see him acquire the ability to interact with people in the community. He needs to be able to ignore voices, take his medication, participate in activities and follow directions. Current psychiatric medication is optimized. He requires ongoing therapy to help him learn to manage ongoing distress. If Mr. Sutherland continues what he is doing, Dr. Le thinks they could eventually look at community living as a realistic possibility.
A Board member noted that Mr. Sutherland’s most recent gains are impressive and significant. He is showing an ability to tolerate the discomfort of his symptoms. For someone who came from ‘a place of treatment nihilism’, Mr. Sutherland deserves congratulation.
The parties presented no further evidence.
Submissions of the Parties:
- Counsel for all three parties confirmed their earlier joint submission, advising that it would be appropriate to have the existing Detention Order continue in effect without change.
Conclusions and Disposition:
Based on the evidence and supported by the appropriate joint submission, the Board unanimously concluded that Mr. Shawn Sutherland continues to present a significant threat to the safety of the public. He suffers from a life-long severe mental illness, Schizophrenia. His condition is greatly complicated by a long history of damaging substance abuse.
Mr. Sutherland’s illness involves a long history of entrenched delusions and problematic behaviours. These have unavoidably led him to commit offences of serious harm to members of the public. Without ongoing intensive supervision, support and treatment in a secure forensic setting, he is more than likely to return to violent behaviours of a type and degree similar to what was seen with the previous NCR findings.
In the current reporting period, Mr. Sutherland has made remarkable progress. This contrasts with his previous situation when there was little to no progress in having his condition improve.
That said, it is still early days. The hospital intends to keep up their intense collaborative care program in the hope that Mr. Sutherland will acquire fuller ability to cope with his illness while involving himself with others in his surroundings.
For these reasons, having regard to the primary need to protect the public, and balancing the patient’s mental condition, his reintegration and other needs, a renewed detention order is provided, on the same terms and conditions as last year.
DATED this 23rd day of February 2026 at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Mr. P. Hageraats
Alternate Chairperson
__________________
Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board