Ontario Review Board
Re: Ryan Hare
ORB Files No: 8115
Hearing held on: Wednesday March 4, 2026
Place of Hearing: St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. R. Bigelow
Members: Dr. K. Hand Dr. T. Stirpe Mr. K. McKenna Ms. M. McKinnon
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Ryan Hare Counsel: Mr. J. Chrolavicius
Person in charge of Hospital Counsel: Ms. L. Barney
Attorney-General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. C. Gzik
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated March 30, 2026)
Introduction
On June 20, 2022, Mr. Hare was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on a charge of aggravated assault contrary to the Criminal Code. Mr. Hare is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the Board) dated March 24 2025 ordering his detention at the Forensic Psychiatry Program of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (the Hospital) with privileges up to and including residence in the community of Southern Ontario in accommodation approved by the person in charge.
On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, the Board convened a hearing to review Mr. Hare’s disposition pursuant to section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Hare was present at the hearing and represented by counsel, Mr. Chrolavicius.
The issues to be determined at the hearing were whether Mr. Hare continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public as defined in section 672.5401 of the Criminal Code and, if so, what was the necessary and appropriate disposition that was also the least onerous and least restrictive, taking into account the factors set out in 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
Initial Positions of the Parties
At the commencement of the hearing the parties were requested to provide their initial without prejudice positions with respect to the issues before the Board. Counsel for the Hospital submitted that Mr. Hare continued to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and that the necessary and appropriate disposition was a continuation of the current detention order without change to the terms and conditions.
Both Counsel for the Attorney General and Counsel for Mr. Hare supported the Hospital’s position.
Evidence at the hearing
- The evidence at the hearing consisted of the Hospital Report dated February 25, 2026 and the oral evidence of Dr. Prat, Mr. Hare’s most responsible physician.
Findings:
- For the Reasons that follow, the Board finds that Mr. Hare continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public and the necessary and appropriate disposition is a continuation of the current detention order without change to the terms and conditions.
Index Offence:
- The circumstances surrounding the alleged index offence as summarized in last year’s reasons for disposition are as follows:
“[DD], and Ryan HARE, age 42 are patients at the Woodstock General Hospital Mental Health Ward. On the evening of January 4, 2020, they were in a shared bedroom for the night. [GG], is another patient there in the room next to [DD] and Ryan. DS, [REDACTED] and AM, [REDACTED] were the nurses working in the unit on the evening of January 4, 2020.
On the morning of Sunday January 5, 2020, at approximately 0520 hours, [DD] woke up by Ryan beating him with his fists. He believes he was hit over 50 times. [GG] was woken up from the sound of [DD] screaming for help, so he ran down to the nurse’s station and made DS and AM aware of the incident. DS and AM attended the room of [DD] and found Ryan on top of [DD] who was laying on the floor. They removed Ryan from on top of [DD] and put him in a seclusion room. They observed [DD]’s face to be cut open with blood all over it and bruising had already started to form. [DD] was complaining of breathing issues and sore ribs.
At 0630 hours PC KLEMP attended the hospital and spoke to [DD]. [DD] was clearly very sore and had a hard time speaking to PC KLEMP. At this time [DD] was satisfied with the steps taken by hospital staff that Ryan had been separated and placed into seclusion.
On Monday January 6, 2020, PC KLEMP received a voicemail from Dylan that [DD] had been transported to Victoria Hospital for life threatening injuries. At 2155 hours PC KLEMP attended Victoria Hospital and spoke with [DD] who advised him that his injured included a punctured lung, internal bleeding in his stomach, damage to his small intestine, multiple broken ribs, slight vision loss in his right eye and bruising. PC KLEMP took 7 photos of the injuries with the Sgt’s camera and obtained an audio statement from [DD]. At this time [DD] advised PC KLEMP that he would like charges laid against Ryan.
At 0503 hours on Tuesday January 7, 2020, PC KLEMP attended the Woodstock hospital mental health ward and issued Ryan a form 9 for Assault causing bodily harm.”
Background Information Regarding the Accused:
As of the date of the hearing, Mr. Hare was 48 years of age and was born in London, Ontario. His mother had a career in nursing, while his father was a tobacco farmer. He has three older brothers. He was involved in organized sports as a youth and experienced several concussions in his life both at an early age and as an adult, including one where he was beaten and found unconscious approximately 15 years ago.
Following high school Mr. Hare received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Guelph. He worked in farming “on and off” until 2018 when he lost his employment and driver’s license for failing to provide a breath sample during a traffic stop.
Mr. Hare has been involved in two common law relationships, the first produced two daughters and ended in 2009. The second lasted about five years and ended in 2016. Both of his daughters reside with their mother.
Substance Use History
- Mr. Hare has a long-standing history of substance use, including alcohol. He began using street drugs such as cocaine and marijuana regularly in his late teens and suffered from a fentanyl overdose approximately 20 years ago.
Legal History:
- Mr. Hare has a criminal record including a conviction for careless use of a firearm, weapon, prohibited device or ammunition in 2012 and a conviction for failing to provide a breath sample in 2018. He has also incurred charges of mischief under, assault causing bodily harm, possession of a weapon, uttering threats, theft under, possession of property obtained by crime under $5000 and failing to comply with an undertaking. All of those charges were withdrawn but he was ordered to enter into Peace Bonds with respect to the mischief under $5000 charge and the assault causing bodily harm charges.
Psychiatric History
The Hospital Report indicates that his mother noticed her son’s mental health started to deteriorate approximately 15 years ago, after he was beaten unconscious. Since then, she has observed him to be increasingly stubborn, irritable, abusive, agitated, and unpredictable.
Mr. Hare’s first admission to hospital with respect to mental health related issues was in July 2015 when he was brought to hospital by police due to displaying bizarre behaviour and on admission was noted to be “acutely psychotic”. He was started on antipsychotic medication and his psychosis resolved within several days. He attributed his psychosis to Ativan and left hospital contrary to medical advice.
His next admission to hospital with respect to mental health related issues was in April 2019 when he presented at an emergency department due to suicidal ideation and auditory and visual hallucinations. Medication was started which had good effect and he was discharged home with follow-up by his family physician. Discharge diagnoses were alcohol use disorder; query alcohol induced psychosis.
In January 2020 Mr. Hare presented at an emergency department with auditory hallucinations. He reported that he had stopped taking medication approximately four months prior and had been using alcohol and cannabis regularly. It was during this admission that the Index Offence occurred. He demonstrated bizarre and agitated behaviour while in seclusion. He stabilized once medication was restarted. He was discharged into [police custody. Discharge diagnosis was Alcohol Induced Psychotic Disorder, persistent type; cannabis use disorder.
Ten days later, on January 19, 2020, Mr. Hare again presented at an emergency department, this time in Hamilton ON, to St. Joseph’s Healthcare. He again was displaying bizarre behaviour, was irritable and displayed delusions such as the belief he was the supreme leader of Simcoe. Antipsychotic medication was started, he showed improvement and he no longer complained of auditory hallucinations. Discharge diagnosis was unspecified psychotic disorder; rule out substance-induced psychosis; rule out schizophrenia. He had been admitted January 19 to February 4, 2020 and was discharged with recommendations to follow up with his family physician.
Over the next thirteen months, following the index offence, Mr. Hare was admitted to hospital on at least five occasions, to five different hospitals. March 2 to 4, 2021 he was admitted to hospital in Huntsville after threatening his mother with a knife. He was brought to hospital by police, was described as aggressive and psychotic, and refused all investigations. March 4th he was transferred to Orillia Soldier’s Hospital where he remained on an involuntary basis until March 12th when he was discharged to police custody.
March 12th to May 4th 2021 to he was admitted to St. Joseph’s Forensic Psychiatry Program upon being found unfit to stand trial and issued a treatment order. He expressed paranoid and grandiose delusions, was guarded and viewed his hospitalizations as due to police harassment. He was compliant with oral medication citing that it helped him sleep better. He declined to participate in outpatient mental health follow up. He was to follow up with his family physician.
Current Diagnosis
- Mr. Hare’s current diagnoses are Schizophrenia and Cannabis and Alcohol Use Disorder (in remission in a controlled setting).
Evidence of Dr. Prat
- Dr. Prat stated that:
He has been Mr. Hare’s most responsible physician since June 2024 and had reviewed and adopted the contents of the Hospital Report. Over the reporting year Mr. Hare had not been a management problem and attended all appointments appropriately. However, his insight into his need for treatment, the impact of substance use on his mental health and his risk of reoffence continues to be limited. Although he is adherent to medication, he has requested that medications be reduced. Should Mr. Hare return to substance use and stop medication there would be a substantial risk of rapid decompensation.
Although Mr. Hare’s perseveration on the need to consume cannabis stopped once the Board clearly imposed a prohibition on use, he quickly shifted into wanting to consume nonalcoholic beer. The treatment team advised him that some products labelled as nonalcoholic in fact contain alcohol which is allowed by legislation as long as the alcohol content remains below a specified threshold. Consumption of such products could result in a positive test for alcohol in urine screens which would be considered a breach of the disposition.
The treatment team believes that a detention order is necessary because the team needs to be able to approve housing particularly given his stated desire to spend half of the year in a community several hundred kilometres from the Hospital which would make supervision impossible. A detention order is also necessary due to the significant risk of substance use and its deleterious effect on his mental health and the lack of coping strategies to deal with stress.
Although consumption of small amounts of nonalcoholic beer would likely not have a direct effect on his mental health, his interest in consumption of a beer like substance is of concern given the recent serious issues with respect to his insight into the impact of substances on his mental health.
Analysis and Conclusion, Significant Threat:
Although the issue of significant threat was not contested at the hearing, the Board nevertheless makes an independent finding that Mr. Hare continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. He suffers from a major mental illness as well as cannabis and alcohol use disorder and displays little insight into his illness, the need for treatment or the impact of substance use on his mental health. When unwell Mr. Hare has a lengthy history of aggressive behaviour causing physical and/or psychological harm to members of the public.
Absent the supervision of the board, there is a substantial risk of his returning to the use of substances and ceasing taking prescribed medication resulting in a return of psychotic symptoms similar to those displayed at the time of the index offence.
Necessary and Appropriate Disposition
- The Board also finds that the evidence supports the joint submission with respect to a continuation of the current detention order without change to the terms and conditions. The Hospital needs to be able to approve accommodation in order to ensure that Mr. Hare is appropriately housed to allow for monitoring for early signs of decompensation not sufficient to justify hospitalization under the Mental Health Act could be observed and acted upon in order to protect the public.
DATED this 30th day of March 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Robert Bigelow
Alternate Chairperson
Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board