Re Eric Rioux, 2026 CanLII 4237

Ontario Review Board

Re: Eric Rioux

ORB File No: 6813

Hearing held on: Friday, November 14, 2025

Place of hearing: North Bay Regional Health Centre – North Bay Site

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

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. J. Weinstein

Members: Dr. K. Hand

Dr. G. Stones

Mr. D. Sandor

Mr. A. Bouvier

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Eric Rioux

Counsel: Mr. C. Bracken

The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Mr. P. Trenker

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. M. Mazurski

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated January 19, 2026)

Introduction:

1. On August 24, 2015, Mr. Eric Rioux was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder, on charges of mischief – not exceeding $5,000 (x2), assault with a weapon, theft not exceeding $5,000, and fraudulently obtaining food ,beverage, or accommodations (x3), all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (“Criminal Code”).

2. Mr. Rioux is subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (the “Board”), dated November 4, 2024, which orders that he be detained at the North Bay Regional Health Centre – North Bay Site (“North Bay”). This Disposition provides him with certain privileges, including to live in the community of North Bay, in accommodation approved by the person in charge.

3. On November 14, 2025, the Board convened a hearing at North Bay to conduct the annual review of the current Disposition.

4. Mr. Rioux was represented by his counsel, Mr. C. Bracken, who advised that his client did not wish to attend this hearing and that he had instructions to proceed in his absence. An order was made allowing Mr. Rioux to be absent from this hearing, pursuant to s. 672.5(10)(a).

5. A Hospital Report, dated October 7, 2025 (the "Hospital Report"), was entered as Exhibit 1.

6. The issues at this hearing were whether Mr. Rioux is a significant threat to public safety, as defined in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code, and, if so, what is the necessary and appropriate Disposition in the circumstances, bearing in mind the factors enunciated in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

7. For the reasons set out below and based on the expert evidence and opinions before us, the Board concluded that Mr. Rioux continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public. The Board ordered that the necessary and appropriate Disposition in the circumstances is the continuation of the existing Detention Order.

Current Psychiatric Diagnoses:

8. Schizophrenia

Substance Use Disorder (polysubstance)

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Index Offences:

9. The circumstances giving rise to the Index Offences are extracted from last year’s Board Reasons, as follows:

“On July 20, 2014, Mr. Rioux attended the Esso on the Run on Algonquin Avenue in North Bay. He requested a carton of cigarettes and when the clerk placed four “combo packs” of cigarettes on the counter, Mr. Rioux grabbed one of the packs. When the clerk told him, he had to pay for the cigarettes he began to quote something from the Bible, left the store and fled.

On July 24, 2014, Mr. Rioux consumed meals at Boston Pizza at approximately 12:00 and at approximately 8:00 p.m. at the Moose restaurant. Both times he left the premises without paying for his meals. North Bay Police were contacted in regard to both incidents and he was located later that evening. He was arrested for two counts of food fraud. A Mental Health Assessment was requested.

When the video footage from the Esso on the Run was reviewed, Mr. Rioux was recognized as the accused in a food fraud that occurred on July 24, 2014. On July 29, 2014, North Bay Police attended the North Bay Jail and advised Mr. Rioux he was charged with Theft under $5000.00.

On October 11, 2014, Mr. Rioux was a patient on the Secure Forensic Assessment Unit of the North Bay Regional Health Centre having been admitted on a court ordered July 9, 2023: assault with a weapon assessment on October 3, 2014. On that date, he had been informed that due to behaviour issues (he had been actively delusional and increasingly aggressive during his admission) he would not be permitted to attend the secure yard that evening. He allegedly started to bang on the nursing station window with his hands. He was agitated and yelling. He then picked up a chair and repeatedly hit the window of the nursing station until it shattered. He threw the chair through the window into the nursing station. He continued to yell at staff members demanding a letter from President Obama. He was wielding a three foot long wooden stick and a broken chair arm. Staff contacted North Bay Police. Mr. Rioux allegedly began to swing the sticks hitting the broken glass in the direction of the complainant, the nurse in charge, who was ten feet away in the nursing station. She tried to reason with Mr. Rioux who was very aggressive and continued to raise the weapons above his head forcing the complainant to back away as she feared for her safety. North Bay Police attended the Assessment Unit and Mr. Rioux was taken into custody.

On December 14, 2014, while on a Recognizance of Bail for the above mentioned charges, Mr. Rioux attended Burger World restaurant in North Bay. He consumed breakfast and before he left the restaurant, he removed tip money from an adjacent table. Another patron brought this to the attention of the restaurant owner. The owner approached Mr. Rioux and recognized him as a person who had attended the restaurant on at least three previous occasions and left without paying for his food. The owner contacted police. Other patrons in the restaurant obstructed Mr. Rioux from leaving the premises. North Bay Police attended the restaurant and located Mr. Rioux in the company of the owner. Mr. Rioux was arrested and later released on a Promise to Appear and Officer in Charge Undertaking for Food Frauds. He was to appear in court on February 3, 2015.

On February 26, 2015, Mr. Rioux was at his apartment in the Voyageur Inn, North Bay. Co-residents of the building reported excessive noise by Mr. Rioux including yelling, swearing, banging, smashing things, and knocking at other tenants' doors. Police were called and attended. Mr. Rioux was arrested following a brief struggle. He was charged with one count of mischief for not allowing tenants to enjoy their property.”

Background Information, Substance Abuse History, Legal History and Psychiatric History:

10. Mr. Rioux’s background, substance abuse history, legal history, and psychiatric history are outlined in the Hospital Report, and they are accurately summarized in last year’s Reasons:

“Mr. Rioux was born and raised in the North Bay area. His father, who passed away when Mr. Rioux was approximately 10 years old, reportedly abused Mr. Rioux and his mother. Following his father’s death, Mr. Rioux went into the care of the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and resided in a number of foster homes until he was 16 at which time he returned briefly to his mother’s home but had difficulty following the rules and moved out on his own. CAS supported him in his own residence until the age of 18.

Mr. Rioux completed high school and managed to maintain fairly steady employment into his early twenties when he began to develop mental health issues.

Mr. Rioux {has} an extensive history of polysubstance abuse including abuse of alcohol, benzodiazepines, methamphetamine, Ritalin, cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy.

Although Mr. Rioux reports that he was convicted of shoplifting as a youth and was charged in British Columbia with an assault but left the province before his court hearing. He has no criminal record.

Mr. Rioux’s psychiatric history dates back to 2004 when he was assessed at North Bay General Hospital emergency due to experiencing paranoid ideas. He was diagnosed with polysubstance dependence and query psychotic disorder. His first hospitalization with respect to mental health related issues was in January 2008 when he was brought to hospital by police as he was becoming increasingly agitated and paranoid. He remained in hospital for 2 months and was discharged with a diagnosis of Psychotic Disorder not otherwise specified, probable schizoaffective disorder, depressive type. He had a number of further admissions after that admission and prior to the index offences.

On October 1, 2014, Mr. Rioux was found unfit to stand trial and admitted to hospital on a Treatment Order. At that time, he was experiencing auditory hallucinations and grandiose delusions that he had a special status as a deity. During this hospitalization, the index offences of October 11, 2014, occurred. As a result of that incident, he was transferred to Waypoint Centre for Mental Health care where he remained until November 18, 2014, when he was returned to court and found fit to stand trial.

Mr. Rioux was again admitted to hospital after the index offences of February 2015 where he remained until July 2015. Upon admission he was tangential with loosening of associations and believed that people were watching him.”

Course Since Last Disposition:

11. Mr. Rioux’s course since his last Disposition is set out in detail in the Hospital Report. The following extracted paragraphs are relevant to this hearing:

“He has limited insight into his mental illness and consistently requests to discontinue his medications due to adverse side effects, such as sexual side effects, blurred vision, hair loss, and constipation.

In September 2024, Mr. Rioux was prescribed 10 mg Vyvanse, but the team observed him to be more argumentative and hostile since starting the Vyvanse. Mr. Rioux was also inconsistent in taking it.

By the end of October 2024, he began refusing his morning medications, attributing bowel issues to them while claiming Vyvanse does not cause similar problems. Mr. Rioux expressed a desire to discontinue Olanzapine but continued to take it. Dr. Gagnon increased his Olanzapine to 15 mg and discontinued Wellbutrin.

In November 2024, Vyvanse was discontinued, and he continued to refuse most medications except Olanzapine and IM injections. Documentation notes frequent refusals of prescribed medications, leading to changes in his regimen, including the discontinuation of Pantoloc, Feramax, Gabapentin, and Vitamin D, and a PRN adjustment for Indocid. In May 2025, Ativan PRN availability was increased to 2 mg for anxiety.

The Abilify Maintena, administered every 21 days, was placed on active hold on August 21, 2025, with the last dose given on August 1, 2025. He expressed happiness but desires to reduce medications further, stating he wants to "prove the team wrong.”

During the current reporting period, Mr. Rioux has displayed fluctuating mental status, with no significant management concerns identified.

In June 2025, the Concurrent Disorders team assessed that one-on-one sessions were not therapeutically beneficial due to Mr. Rioux’s repeated denial of his mental illness, his insistence on discontinuing medication, and his belief that hospitalization is unwarranted. These conversations often result in increased frustration, which poses a barrier to progress.”

Position of the Parties:

12. Counsel for the Hospital, counsel for the Attorney General, and counsel for Mr. Rioux advised that this was a joint submission: all were adopting the Hospital’s recommendation of a continuation of the existing Detention Order Disposition.

13. For the purposes of this hearing, counsel for Mr. Rioux advised that significant threat was not in dispute.

Evidence at the Hearing:

14. The Board had available to it the evidence and documents forming the Record, the Exhibits, and oral evidence from Dr. Gagnon. Dr. Gagnon co-authored the Hospital Report. He testified as follows:

a) He is Mr. Rioux’s treating psychiatrist.

b) Mr. Rioux has a longstanding, severe psychiatric illness, with fixed delusions centered on religious themes, specifically the belief that he is the Messiah.

c) Mr. Rioux is not a management concern.

d) Mr. Rioux has a history of doing well in the community, notably at 501 Morris, a 24/7 supervised accommodation. However, he experienced rapid decompensation following the events of the attack on October 7, in Israel, which exacerbated his paranoia and agitation. Since then, he has remained highly paranoid, convinced that snipers are targeting him.

e) His delusions are interfering with the treatment team’s ability to treat him.

f) Mr. Rioux becomes very frustrated, and oppositional, with the treatment team, as they, in his opinion, wrongfully refuse to recognize that he is the Messiah. This refusal compounds his severe depression and his low motivation. He would like to trial Mr. Rioux on Lithium for his depression

g) Mr. Rioux illness is treatment-resistant, with persistent delusions despite trials of multiple antipsychotic medications (including Abilify, olanzapine, and previously clozapine, which was discontinued because of blood pressure issues).

h) Mr. Rioux is largely withdrawn, spending most of his time in his room, and he rarely engages in activities, despite having privileges. He is reluctant to exercise his privilege to enter the community, or to participate in programs, because of his paranoia.

i) Mr. Rioux is resistant to discharge because of ongoing delusional beliefs and lack of engagement with treatment. His current position is that he is prepared to remain in hospital until the treatment team recognizes him as the Messiah,

j) While Mr. Rioux’s response to his medication regimen has been limited, it does appear that, with the increase of Olanzapine, he is not as fearful, paranoid, or agitated as he was when he was first admitted, in October 2023. The treatment team has seen some improvement in the intensity of his paranoia. He is now able to go out into the community with other patients.

k) Mr. Rioux is often non-adherent expressing a strong desire to discontinue all psychiatric drugs, and sometimes refusing medications for physical health issues. He has been declared incapable to consent to treatment with antipsychotics, but he is treatment capable with respect to other medical issues.

l) Attempts at psychotherapy (CBT for psychosis) have had minimal impact, largely due to Mr. Rioux’s lack of participation and entrenched beliefs.

m) Electroconvulsive therapy (“ECT”) was previously administered during a period of severe deterioration, and it resulted in some improvement, but Mr. Rioux is currently refusing further ECT. The Public Guardian and Trustee, as his substitute decision maker, is also not consenting to ECT at this time.

n) Mr. Rioux has a history of substance abuse (notably methamphetamines), which he believes would "cure" him, if he were allowed to use them.

o) If Mr. Rioux were to be absolutely discharged, he would cease his medication regimen and use methamphetamines. This conduct would cause him to become a significant threat to the safety of the public and to engage in the same behaviours as those at the time of the Index Offences.

p) The treatment team needs to approve Mr. Rioux’s housing in order to monitor his mental health and to make sure he remains adherent to his medication regimen and that he remains absence from substances.

15. No other evidence was called.

Analysis and Conclusions:

16. Having heard and considered the entirety of the evidence as well as the submissions from the parties, the Board agrees with the joint submission: Mr. Rioux remains a significant threat to the safety of the public.

17. In Winko, the Supreme Court outlined that, in coming to the conclusion on the issue of significant risk, a Review Board should closely examine a range of evidence, including: the circumstances of the original offence; the past and expected course of the accused’s treatment; the present state of the NCR accused’s medical condition; the NCR accused’s own plans for the future; the support existing for the NCR accused in the community; and most importantly, the recommendations provided by experts who examined the NCR accused. In coming to our conclusion in this matter, the Board relies on the uncontroverted expert evidence of Dr. Gagnon, in addition to the documentary evidence before us.

18. Mr. Rioux’s insight into his mental illness and his need for medication remains poor. He has no insight into how substance use can affect his mental health and his risk to the safety of the public.

19. Since Mr. Rioux’s readmission to the hospital in October 2023, he has needed extensive support and supervision from the Forensic Treatment Team, to maintain treatment adherence, avoid substance use, and reestablish his ability to live in the community.

20. Mr. Rioux lacks insight into the necessity of treatment and into his potential for aggressive, or self-harming, behaviour when he is unwell. He continues to experience residual psychotic symptoms. Mr. Rioux has a long-standing history of non-compliance. Should he be discharged absolutely, he would likely disengage from critical mental health supports, stop taking his medication, and resume substance use. These behaviours would lead to deterioration in his mental health and impaired judgement, likely resulting in violent behaviour, increasing the risks to himself and to others.

21. In particular, the Board relies on the following extracted paragraphs from the Hospital Report, under Assessment of Risk and Clinical Assessment of Risk:

“Currently, his risk for violence is exacerbated by ongoing dynamic factors, which are likely to increase the risk of destabilization, relapses, decompensation, and the like. Mr. Rioux demonstrates limited insight into his mental illness and the need for treatment. Moreover, he remains intermittently non-compliant with prescribed medications, which have previously led to periods of decompensation, delusional thinking, and increased emotional instability. His ongoing symptoms, including persistent delusions and variable mood, coupled with non-compliance and minimal social support, indicate a heightened risk for mental health relapses and potential for violence if not managed within a structured environment. Although there are currently no immediate concerns regarding professional services, living arrangements, or personal support, it is evident that the security provided by his present structured environment is integral to managing his risk. Should this support be removed, his potential for destabilization and violent behaviour would likely increase substantially, particularly in the context of untreated anxiety and ongoing reluctance to adhere to prescribed treatment. Scenarios where he is most likely to be violent are associated with discontinuation of his medication and/or relapse of illicit substance use, which would inevitably lead to severe decompensation and at this time, and his risk for violence would be unmanageable without re-hospitalization to stabilize his condition. Mr. Rioux is unlikely to engage in planned violence, but rather he is likely to engage in reactive and unplanned acts of violence.”

Clinical Assessment of Risk

Factors Aggravating Risk:

1. Mr. Rioux has a major mental disorder, namely Schizophrenia, the manifestations of which include paranoid and grandiose delusional ideations, as well as auditory hallucinations.

2. Mr. Rioux continues to endorse religious-themed delusions that he is the Messiah or prophet and struggles with his beliefs about what God expects of him.

3. Mr. Rioux has a history of non-compliance with medication and with recommended treatment plan.

4. Mr. Rioux has a significant and longstanding history of polysubstance misuse. Mr. Rioux has continued to endorse his wish to use methamphetamines. Mr. Rioux has not participated in structured addiction programming during this reporting period.

5. Mr. Rioux is incapable of consenting to treatment. Mr. Rioux continues to have limited insight into his mental illness and the need for reliable adherence to psychopharmacological treatment.

6. Mr. Rioux experienced a mental health decompensation when attempts were made in the past to minimize the antipsychotic medication he had been taking.

7. Mr. Rioux has a history of aggressive and threatening behaviours while hospitalized; he lacks insight into his risk of becoming aggressive should he cease engaging in treatment and decompensate.

8. Mr. Rioux has a history of a strong desire to engage in self-harming behaviours by intermittently refusing fluids and nourishment to comply with perceived divine direction. Mr. Rioux attempted to engage in fasting and sleep deprivation during this reporting period.

9. Despite not having a criminal record, Mr. Rioux had numerous contacts with police due to aggressive behaviour. At times, in the past, he lived a transient lifestyle.

10. Mr. Rioux’s anxiety and paranoia impede his progress in reintegrating into the community

11. During this reporting period, Mr. Rioux had limited engagement with therapeutic and recreational programming.

12. Mr. Rioux has limited social support and minimal contact with his family.

13. In light of the Board’s finding of significant threat, it is charged with shaping a Disposition for the coming year. It is clear from the Hospital Report that the hospital needs to approve Mr. Rioux’s housing, in order to monitor his mental stability and to ensure that he remains abstinent from substances and remains adherent to his medication regimen.

14. In particular, the Board relies on the following from the Hospital Report to explain why a Conditional Discharge Disposition is not appropriate in these circumstances:

“The Hospital also recommends that the ORB should not grant a conditional discharge. The evidence suggests the need for a level of supervision that can only be provided under the authority of a Detention Order. The level of risk is such that the Person in Charge of the Hospital must retain the authority to exercise discretion in granting privileges and to approve any future community placement. Given the transitional nature of Mr. Rioux’s current community placement, a further period of supervision will be necessary as he transitions to a more permanent housing situation. It will be imperative that the Person in Charge maintains the authority to respond promptly and proactively should stressors from such a transition compromise his mental status. It would be highly inadvisable from a forensic psychiatric risk management perspective to consider such a disposition in the current circumstances.”

24. In consideration of all the evidence, submissions of the parties and criteria set forth in s. 672.54, the paramount consideration being the safety of the public, in addition to the mental condition of Mr. Rioux, his reintegration into society and his other needs, the necessary and appropriate Disposition is to continue with a Detention Order.

DATED this 19th day of January 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.

Mr. J. Weinstein

Alternate Chairperson

__________________

Office of the Registrar

Ontario Review Board