Perfect Adison (Re), 2026 CanLII 23900

Re: Perfect Adison

ORB File No: 7921

Hearing held on: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Place of hearing: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

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

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. P. Capelle

Members: The Hon. B. Allen Dr. P. Prendergast Dr. M. Mamak Mr. A. Mete

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Perfect Adison Counsel: Mr. J. DiCecca

The person in charge of hospital: Counsel: Ms. M. Warner

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. M. Feindel

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated March 16, 2026)

Introduction

1On July 15, 2021, Mr. Perfect Adison was found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder on charges of attempting to disarm a police officer (x2), assaulting a police officer causing bodily harm, assaulting a police officer, and uttering a threat, all contrary to the Criminal Code.

2Under s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code, a panel of the Ontario Review Board (“the Board”) was convened on February 18, 2026, at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH” or “the Hospital”) to review Mr. Adison’s threat to public safety and the appropriate disposition under s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

3Mr. Adison’s existing Disposition dated February 27, 2025, allows a conditional discharge with appropriate conditions including a stipulation that Mr. Adison’s housing address be 96 Dowling Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, and including a weapons prohibition.

4The parties advanced a joint position that Mr. Adison continues to pose a significant threat to public safety and that the existing conditional discharge should be maintained on the existing conditions except: (1) the residence clause at paragraph (a) be removed; (2) the reporting requirement at paragraph (b) be amended from not less than every two weeks to not less than once a month; and (3) the absence from residence clause at paragraph (j) be amended from “not leave his residence...unless with the approval of CAMH” to not leave his residence without prior notice to CAMH.

Disposition

5For the reasons set out the Board concludes under s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code that Mr. Adison continues to pose a significant threat to public safety and that the necessary and appropriate disposition is a continuation of the conditional discharge on the existing conditions except with the removal of the residence clause, the reporting clause being amended to not less than once a month and the absence from residence clause being amended to without prior notice to CAMH.

Current Diagnosis

6Mr. Adison’s current diagnosis is schizophrenia.

The Evidence

7The Board has before it the Hospital Report dated February 2, 2026, which contains an account of Mr. Adison’s personal and psychiatric background which need not be repeated in detail here. The Board also has the oral evidence of Dr. Hanna Meng, who returned to being Mr. Adison’s treating psychiatrist in January 2026. She is not a signatory to the Hospital Report but adopts its contents. A Shona interpreter was present to assist Mr. Adison.

Index Offence

8The circumstances of the index offence are described in the Hospital Report at page 9 and are summarized as follows:

On July 28, 2020, Mr. Adison entered his mother’s residence naked. He left the residence and returned shortly afterwards wearing underwear and no pants. His mother became concerned for Mr. Adison’s state of mind and contacted the police.

The police attended the address and located Mr. Adison in his mother's apartment. Officers entered the unit and engaged in a conversation with him. Mr. Adison was showing the officers some family photos in the living room. Within seconds he ran towards the kitchen and became agitated talking about Jesus and saying that nothing was making any sense. When the officers attempted to contain Mr. Adison, who was trying to leave, he suddenly threatened one of the officers that he would take the officer's gun and kill him (charge #1). Mr. Adison quickly became aggressive and attempted to take the officer's firearm. However, he got hold of the officer's radio located directly above his firearm and removed it from his vest (charge #2). He then reached for the other officer's taser. But he failed to grab it. (charge #3). Mr. Adison was combative and head-butted the first officer's head. (charge #4). He then immediately turned to the second officer and head-butted him as well as striking the second officer on his head. (charge #5). He then turned to the first officer and head-butted him a second time striking him on his forehead.

9The officers called for backup because they could not control Mr. Adison. Additional officers arrived on scene and Mr. Adison was arrested and handcuffed.

Criminal History

10Mr. Adison denied any involvement with the criminal justice system before the index offences. He reported that he had taken someone’s laptop in the past because of voices telling him to take it but never got arrested or charged because he gave it back. This happened almost six years ago. Mr. Adison denied other theft or criminal behaviour.

Substance Use

11Mr. Adison denied any current alcohol or drug use. He reported having tried cannabis on a few occasions seven to eight years ago. However, on October 3, 2022, he was found wandering in a school playground and was taken to CAMH. Mr. Adison reported having used crack cocaine and having auditory hallucinations.

Mr. Adison’s Personal and Psychiatric History

Before the Current Reporting Year

Personal History

12Mr. Adison is a 30-year-old male born in Zimbabwe who immigrated to Canada in 2017 and became a Canadian citizen in 2024. He is Shona-speaking with English being his second language. Mr. Adison is financially supported by ODSP (“Ontario Disability Support Program”) benefits and has worked at odd jobs “under the table.” He has never been married and has no children. He reported being in a relationship with a female partner who resides in Montreal.

13In 2007, Mr. Adison's mother moved to Toronto with a son by a subsequent marriage and sponsored Mr. Adison to come to Canada where he first met his half-brother. Shortly after arriving in Canada in 2017, Mr. Adison moved from his mother's home because he felt it was too small for all the family members. He rented an apartment for some time and then when he lost his job, he became homeless living in shelters and his car. Mr. Adison remains in touch with his mother a few times a month.

14Mr. Adison completed grade 10 in Zimbabwe. In Canada he completed a six-month training program in 2017 to obtain a security guard license. He worked as a security guard in Toronto from 2017 to 2019 for two different companies. He reported that he liked the jobs and schedules. He was fired from the first company after six months for being found sleeping while on duty. Mr. Adison left his job at the second company after about a year saying it was because of voices telling him to "quit because it was not good there." He also briefly had a job as a carpet installer.

Psychiatric History

15Mr. Adison reported first experiencing mental health issues in Zimbabwe but did not see a doctor at the time. Before finishing high school in Zimbabwe, he started hearing the voices of different people, sometimes people he met previously, telling him to remove his clothes or to run away from school. Mr. Adison also occasionally expressed concerns about demons. He reported this to his grandmother. However, no services were available in Zimbabwe, and the family could not afford a psychiatrist. He indicated he had no hospitalizations in Zimbabwe.

16Mr. Adison was first assessed for mental health issues in Canada in 2017 or 2018 when he received medications, but he could not recall what they were. He was aware that in 2020 he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and accepted the diagnosis and acknowledged that his medications minimized the voices. Mr. Adison's mother became his substitute decision-maker.

17Mr. Adison indicated that he had attempted suicide three to four times when voices “told me to do that.” The first attempt was in 2017, the second was in 2019 when he quit his job and the third was in 2020. His first two attempts involved trying to jump off a bridge which he obviously did not do. His last attempt was trying to eat glass. Mr. Adison was apprehended by the police and brought to the hospital.

18Mr. Adison’s initial Board hearing was held on December 3, 2021, at which time he received a conditional discharge and was on a CTO (“Community Treatment Order”) at the time. From December 2021 to November 2022, he was first followed by FOPS (“Forensic Out Patient Service”) and later during that period was admitted to a general forensic unit at CAMH.

19Mr. Adison reported auditory hallucinations approximately everyday before receiving medication. He had limited insight regarding his mental illness and the need for medication. During that period, he received long-acting intramuscular injections every three months with the consent of his mother as his substitute decision-maker.

20In May 2022, Mr. Adison attended the FOPS clinic in a dishevelled state. His case manager was aware that he left a shelter the previous weekend and was not in contact with his mother, case manager or his brother. He told his case manager he had been homeless for a week. Mr. Adison agreed to be admitted to CAMH voluntarily. He did well while admitted but chose to leave in June 2022 and stayed at the Scott Mission until July 18, 2022.

21Mr. Adison left the Scott Mission without advising where he could be located. Despite many attempts to locate him Mr. Adison could not be found for some time. On September 3, 2022, he called his mother informing her that he was staying in the Sherbourne-Dundas area. His mother located him near Sherbourne St., dishevelled. She offered to take him home, but he declined. She called the police however he refused to be brought into CAMH.

22Mr. Adison was found by the police on October 3, 2022, wandering in a school playground and was taken to CAMH. Mr. Adison reported having used crack cocaine and having auditory hallucinations. He was admitted as an inpatient under a Form 3 and continued in the Hospital under a Form 4 which expired on November 16, 2022. During the inpatient stay he acknowledged he had a mental illness, but documentation showed he had poor insight into his mental illness and the need for treatment. He refused to take his medications due to the unwanted side effects of jaw movements. He indicated he did not want to stay in the Hospital because he did not need it.

23Mr. Adison indicated he remained in touch with his mother and brother and had reconnected regularly with his girlfriend who resided in Montreal, all of whom he had good supportive relationships with.

24Following Mr. Adison’s February 17, 2023, Board hearing he received a new detention order disposition. He was admitted to a general forensic unit at CAMH. Initially he declined to attend programs saying he was not interested in advancing in his passes. By April 2023, with encouragement, he began to attend substance relapse prevention, mindfulness and open gym programs. In May 2023, Mr. Adison began individual psychotherapy with Dr. Emily Cripps with the FORCAT (“Forensic Consultation and Assessment Team”) program.

25In July 2023, Mr. Adison was accepted for 24-hour high supportive housing accommodation provided by Regeneration Community Services. To support discharge planning, his passes were expedited to community indirectly supervised outings. Mr. Adison used the passes positively. On August 8, 2023, he was discharged to the community.

26Psychological testing revealed poor intellectual performance. The clinical team felt it was important moving forward to consider that Mr. Adison's general problem-solving skills and emotional regulation were likely negatively impacted by his poor intellectual functioning which affected such factors as goal setting, planning, understanding concepts, perspective-taking and anticipatory problem-solving.

27On discharge Mr. Adison was released to 96 Dowling Avenue, a 24-hour supervised high-support shared accommodation operated by Regeneration Community Services. The residence had a nightly curfew and forbade overnight visitors. There were two staff on site at all times. Mr. Adison was described as a "model resident" by housing staff. He maintained his room and personal hygiene well and was compliant with housing rules.

28During the period from August 2023 to January 2024, Mr. Adison showed considerable progress, for instance: his attendances with FOPS were gradually decreased as his stability improved; he continued to be involved in CAMH programs; his mental state and presentation remained stable; he was consistently on time and well-groomed for appointments; he reported the voices were “almost gone”, hearing them only emerging briefly on two occasions since discharge; and he showed better, yet still limited, insight into the adverse effects of substance use on his mental state.

29However there remained areas of concern with Mr. Adison, for example: he rejected the possibility that he may re-offend should he discontinue treatment and consistently indicated that he would stop taking his antipsychotic medication once he was no longer under the Board's jurisdiction; his appreciation of the adverse effects of crack cocaine on his mental state was limited; he continued to externalize responsibility for his previous supervision breaches; he remained resistant to psycho-education and feedback; he consistently expressed discontent with his high support housing because he believed this prevented him from having his "freedom".

30Mr. Adison had a stable and productive reporting year during February 2024 to January 2025. He continued to reside at 96 Dowling Ave.

31Mr. Adison made progress in the following important areas: there were no rule violations or management concerns; he was compliant with his reporting obligations, medications and urine drug monitoring; there were no indications of substance use; weekly FOPS reporting was reduced to once every two weeks; his urine samples were negative for prohibited substances; his schizophrenia was well-controlled with some ongoing residual positive symptoms that did not significantly impact his functioning; he made productive use of his time through educational and other prosocial activities; there were no concerns reported by either housing or Mr. Adison’s mother during her visits; and staff opinion was that he was “amazing to have as a resident”.

32Mr. Adison obtained his Canadian citizenship in 2024 and expressed an interest in moving to a residence with parking so that he could get a car in the future, preferring a residence with no restrictions or curfews. Regarding functional capacity Mr. Adison's score was near the high range suggesting an ability to manage with less support than he currently receives at his residence. He displayed many skills required for independent living in the community but still benefited from support to develop further skills for independence. Mr. Adison scored from moderate to high on home management, transportation, finances, health and safety and problem-solving.

33Mr. Adison was deemed a suitable candidate for the Regeneration Community Services’ Step-Up Program which provides a permanent, independent, subsidized unit with staff available on site to support daily activities as needed. However, it was felt that fully independent housing would likely not adequately support his functional needs. The Hospital Report concludes that Mr. Adison’s risk of future violence under a conditional discharge would be low-moderate. And if granted an absolute discharge the risk of future violence would be high.

The Current Reporting Period – February 2025 to February 2026

34Mr. Adison’s care continued to be provided by the FOPS team during this reporting year. Dr. Hanna Meng provided care from February to April 2025, and Dr. Amina Ali provided care from May 2025 to December 2025, until Dr. Meng’s return in January 2026.

35There were significant favourable features in Mr. Adison’s circumstances during this reporting year: he was compliant with appointments and medications; he abstained from using substances and had plans to remain abstinent; he recognized the impact substances have had on his mental status in the past; he did not exhibit psychotic symptoms and no longer reported auditory hallucinations; he continued to see Dr. Cripps for one-on-one sessions; he completed his high school diploma in June 2025; he renewed his security license and obtained employment with a security company in August 2025; he has a future goal of joining the Canadian Armed Forces once he receives an absolute discharge; he has had no issues in his housing over the reporting period; and he is able to discuss the index offence and states that his mental status at the time was due to substance use.

36However Mr. Adison exhibited some less favourable factors: he adamantly declined to continue to attend some therapeutic programs saying they were useless; he showed limited insight into the support he may require during a housing change; he expressed doubts about moving into the more independent housing considered by the team; he has limited insight into his illness in his belief that his illness in the past was due to substance use only; and he has limited insight into the need for medication stating on occasion that he is “healed”.

37The Hospital Report at page 30 addresses Mr. Adison’s risk to re-offend as follows:

Mr. Adison’s risk arises from his diagnosis of schizophrenia, which has led to decompensations in his mental state, and violence flowing from symptoms of this illness. Given that he has demonstrated consistently poor insight into his illness and motivation for treatment, in the absence of external controls and enforcement, he is at risk of missing appointments and discontinuing his medication, and using substances, which would lead to a worsening of his psychotic symptoms, such as paranoia, persecutory delusions, and hallucinations. He would be at risk of experiencing command hallucinations and acting on them in a violent manner, as he has done in the past, notably in the context of the index offence.

Oral Evidence of Dr. Hanna Meng

38Dr. Hanna Meng had no material updates to offer to the Hospital Report prepared on February 2, 2026.

39Dr. Meng testified that Mr. Adison qualifies for Regeneration Community Services’ Step-Up program which provides less restrictive accommodation than 96 Dowling Ave. as the Hospital has assessed, with Mr. Adison’s progress over this reporting year, that he has less need for his current level of support. The doctor expressed concern however about Mr. Adison’s reluctance to transition to the proposed housing because of his desire for full independence.

40It is important from Dr. Meng’s perspective that transition should occur while Mr. Adison is under the control of the Board in order that the Hospital have the ability to further prepare him to accept the lesser support offered by the proposed housing. Dr. Meng’s opinion is, taking into account the progress Mr. Adison has made during the current reporting year, that a conditional discharge with condition amendments is an appropriate disposition.

The Parties’ Positions

41As noted earlier the parties’ joint position is that Mr. Adison continues to be a significant threat to public safety and that most appropriate disposition in the circumstances is a conditional discharge on the existing conditions except with the amendments to the conditions recommended by the Hospital.

The Board’s Conclusion

42While mindful of the parties’ joint position the Board is required to come to an independent determination.

43Based on the evidence before us, the Board unanimously accepts the opinion, as stated in the Hospital Report, that Mr. Adison remains a significant threat to public safety within the criteria outlined in Winko, 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625 and as defined in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code. The Board considered the criteria as set out in s. 672.54, namely, the paramount criterion of the safety of the public and Mr. Adison’s community re-integration, his mental condition and his other needs.

44We accept, in accordance with s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, that the least onerous and least restrictive disposition, that is necessary and appropriate in the circumstances is a conditional discharge on the existing conditions except with the amendments to the conditions as cited above in paragraph 5 of these Reasons.

45The Board arrives at that decision for the following reasons.

46Mr. Adison has made considerable strides in his progress during the past few reporting years. He has been variously described by the clinical team as a “model citizen” and “amazing to have as a resident.” He has attained his GED, renewed his security license and attained Canadian citizenship. As well, during the current reporting year he has exhibited no concerning behaviours with his housing or his mother. And he has been compliant with reporting, with his medications and with urine drug screens and his symptoms of schizophrenia are well controlled.

47Of some concern however is that Mr. Adison demonstrates limited insight into the support he may require during a housing transition and limited insight into his mental illness and need for medication and has expressed reluctance about moving into the proposed more independent housing preferring to have more “freedom.” The Board accepts the opinion that Mr. Adison remains in need of some support in his accommodation.

48The Board further accepts the Hospital Report’s conclusion that Mr. Adison’s risk of future violence under a conditional discharge would be low-moderate and if granted an absolute discharge the risk of future violence would be high. The evidence shows that the controls provided by a conditional discharge are sufficient to maintain his engagement and compliance. Mr. Adison has voluntarily been admitted to hospital with decompensation and as such the Board agrees that the Mental Health Act would be sufficient to bring him into hospital if required.

49In sum the Board agrees with the Hospital that while Mr. Adison has progressed to a lesser need for support, he continues to have some shortcomings in his insight and understanding of the need for support. The Board offers praise to Mr. Adison for his progress and hope with cooperation and participation in psychoeducation and other rehabilitative programs that Mr. Adison will accept the housing proposed by the Hospital.

50Based on the Hospital Report and the evidence added in Dr. Meng’s testimony the Board concludes, under s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, that Mr. Adison remains a significant threat to public safety and that currently the necessary and appropriate disposition, that is the least onerous and the least restrictive to mitigate threat to public safety, is to maintain the conditional discharge on the existing conditions except with the amendments to the conditions as cited above.

51A conditional discharge with the proposed amendments satisfies the paramount criterion under s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code, of protecting the safety of the public and further meets Mr. Adison’s interests in community re-integration and supports his mental health and other needs.