Re: Denis Quenneville, 2026 CanLII 48352

Ontario Review Board

Re: Denis Quenneville

ORB File No: 3843

Hearing held on: Thursday, April 2, 2026

Place of Hearing: Brockville Mental Health Centre

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

Before:

Alternate Chairperson: Mr. C. Flanagan

Members: Dr. Y. Alatishe Dr. W. Loza Ms. M. Chamberlain Mr. S. Duffy

Parties Appearing:

Accused: Denis Quenneville Counsel: Ms. M. Setia

The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. A. Adiele

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. J. Masse

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated May 20, 2026)

Introduction

1. On October 3, 2003, the accused, Denis Quenneville, was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder on one charge of assault with a weapon, two charges of possession of a weapon for a dangerous person, three charges of utter threat, and one charge of assault, all contrary to the Criminal Code.

2. Mr. Quenneville is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated April 17, 2025, which detains him at the Secure Forensic Unit of the Brockville Mental Health Centre (“BMHC”) with privileges up to and including to live in the community of Eastern Ontario in accommodation approved by the person in charge.

3. On April 2^nd, 2026, a panel of the Ontario Review Board convened a hearing at the Brockville Mental Health Centre, hereinafter referred to as the hospital, to review Mr. Quenneville’s Disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Quenneville was in attendance at his hearing and was represented by his counsel, Ms. M. Setia, who attended via Zoom Audio Visual Technology. Also in attendance was Mr. Quenneville’s father, Paul. A hospital report dated March 18^th, 2026, was entered as Exhibit No. 1 and a CPIC Response Report as Exhibit No. 2.

4. The issues to be determined at the hearing were whether Mr. Quenneville continues 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 section 672.54 of the Criminal Code.

Position of the Parties

5. 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. Dr. Adiele stated that the Hospital was requesting a conditional discharge for Mr. Quenneville. Mr. Shultz, on behalf of the Crown, was in agreement with the Hospital. Ms. Setia stated that Mr. Quenneville was consenting to a conditional discharge but also wanted the Board to consider an absolute discharge.

Index Offences

6. The circumstances giving rise to the index offences are contained in the hospital report and summarized in last year’s Reasons for Disposition, dated April 29^th, 2022, are as follows:

"Index Offence #1:

According to the Police Report, "On January 17, 2003, Cornwall Community Police Service attended 134-9th Street West, Cornwall, in regard to a male with a knife in his bedroom”. Upon arrival, Constable St. Amand was advised by the worker at that residence that, Denis Quenneville, had just left the building and was running westbound towards York from the building. The writer began a foot pursuit and caught up to the accused male, Denis Quenneville, in front of the residence on 8th Street West. At approximately 1233 hours, he was arrested as part of an investigation into this incident in regard to the knife complaint. The accused was handcuffed and searched. A red handled pocketknife was located in the front left jacket pocket. The accused, Quenneville, was transported to headquarters while the investigation continued.

The writer then spoke with the complainant DL who resides at that same address. He stated that the accused, Quenneville, had just moved into the residence approximately three weeks previous and believed it was on January 3, 2003, that the accused pulled out that same red handled knife and began to extend the blade in front of the complainant, stating to him, 'if anyone gives me a hard time, I'll bleed them'. The complainant did not feel threatened at that time but, as the accused became more unpredictable, vulgar and aggressive, the complainant then began to fear, not only for his safety, but the safety of the other residents in the manor.

The writer then spoke with another victim, AL who stated that on January 17, 2003, she was in her bedroom listening to music with the complainant and she began to hear loud noises coming from the accused's bedroom, which is located directly next to hers. She stated that she could hear loud banging, cursing and swearing. She stated that at one point he was screaming, although she could not understand what. She then went to the door and began speaking with the accused, trying to calm him down. The accused then began to curse and swear at the victim, stating that she 'was a fucking cunt, a fucking bitch' and at one point stated 'I'll fucking kill you'. The victim believes that the accused would be able to carry out his threat and fears the accused.

At 1540 hours the writer attended the cell area and advised the accused, Quenneville, of the charges. A call was placed to Duty Counsel ... The accused then began to hyperventilate and could not control his breathing, stating that it was too much for him to handle and stated that he was overwhelmed with what was going on. At approximately 1557 hours the accused fell to the floor where he continued to cry and speak to himself and at one point, struck himself in the right side of the temple area twice, causing some swelling. He was later transported to Cornwall General Hospital. The accused was seen by Dr. Van Hees and later formed under the Mental Health Act and was kept overnight for observation. On January 18, 2003, the hospital felt it was not in the accused's benefit to release him under the Mental Health Act and he was held for observation for another 72 hours. On January 18, 2003, Sgt. Bernie released the accused, Quenneville, on an undertaking and a promise to appear for a court appearance on February 13, 2003, and a finger print date of February 5, 2003.

On January 19, 2003, Constable St. Armand attended, Primrose Manor, and met with victim AM. She stated that she remembers between Christmas and New Years she was in the smoke area of the Manor and the accused, Denis Quenneville, was also present. The accused began to act up and pulled out a Swiss Army knife, extending the blade and stated 'bleed bitch, bleed' and then went towards the victim. At this point there was no contact made.

On January 11, 2003, the victim along with residents of the Manor and the accused, were in the living room listening to music on the TV. The victim overheard the accused talking, unknown if it was to himself or others, about killing people and about how he would kill people. The victim, upon hearing this, advised the accused that she had enough of his talk. At that point the accused got extremely upset, began to yell at the victim, stating he wanted to kill her. At that point the accused got out of control and then tried to strike her with his fists. The staff and other residents restrained the accused and calmed him down. The victim is fearful for her safety and she does not know what the accused will do if he sees her again.

On January 23, 2003, Constable St. Armand, advised Quenneville of the new charges and placed him under arrest ... the accused was released on a promise to appear. "

Index Offence #2:

"On 06 Nov 03 at approximately 1455 hrs, Sgt. Carroll advised Cst. Petryna that he required help in regards to the accused Denis QUENNEVILLE who was in cell 2 on charges of breach as he was now trying to strangle himself with his sweater. Cst. Petryna and Sgt. Carroll attended cell 2 and observed the accused with his sweater tied around his neck and he was attempting to tighten the knot.

Cst. Petryna and Sgt. Carroll attempted to remove the sweater at which time the accused attempted to bite Cst. Petryna while police were attempting to roll him on his back. The accused calmed down once police advised he would be sprayed with OC spray if he didn’t calm down. The sweater was removed at which time the accused began banging his head against the cement bed and wall. It was then obvious that the accused needed to be transported to the Cornwall General Hospital for psychiatric assessment.

While seated in cruiser 8, the accused said, referring to Cst. Jeff Lalonde, 'When I see that little cop I'm going to kill him, I will take my knife and cut out his eyes and heart. He doesn't know who he's fucking with, I’m worse than Satan. I've been to hell and back and he hasn't seen anything.' (Sic) At approx. 1523 hrs Cst. Petryna, Cst. Michaud along with the accused attended the Cornwall General Hospital.

While at the hospital, the accused stated to Cst. Michaud that he is going to kill Cst. Lalonde and burn his body with gas and oil to send him to hell. Cst. Petryna advised the accused he was being charged with assault police officer and utter threats x2.

The accused was subsequently assessed by Dr. Boucier and admitted under a form 1 under the Mental Health Act for psychiatric assessment.”

Background History

7. Mr. Quenneville was born in 1980 in Cornwall, Ontario and is the youngest in a subline of three. At age 3 he was found to have a borderline mental retardation and had frequent tantrums as a result of his inability to express himself. At age 4 he started junior kindergarten but was removed due to extreme behavioural issues and placed in a school for children with such issues. Although he continued in various special schools until he was 18, he only managed to attain a grade 5 education. He is dyslexic and has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as mild mental retardation.

8. Mr. Quenneville’s current diagnoses are:

• Intellectual Developmental Disorder - Mild
• Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (by history)
• Tic Spectrum Disorder (by history, currently treated)
• Substance Use Disorder (In remission)
• Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (Borderline)
• Antisocial Personality Disorder

Legal History

9. Mr. Quenneville had no criminal record prior to the index offences. However, subsequent to the index offences, he was found guilty of uttering threats in 2017 and received a suspended sentence with 12-month probation. In 2021, he was found guilty of three counts of uttering threats in September 2019 and sentenced to a 12-month conditional sentence to be followed by three years probation. On January 4, 2022, he was charged with threatening and assaulting a peace officer with a weapon which charges remain outstanding.

Evidence at the Hearing

10. The hospital’s evidence was presented through its report as well as through the oral testimony of Dr. A. Adiele. This evidence is summarized below.

11. Dr. Adiele informed the Board that Mr. Quenneville had had a good year. He has been discharged from the Hospital since 2023. In May 2025, Mr. Quenneville moved to his parent’s home in Cornwall while looking for his own apartment and in January 2026, he was able to find accommodation in the same community. Mr. Quenneville has been compliant with his medication and engaged well with his treatment team. Dr. Adiele stated that, at his pre-hearing meeting, Mr. Quenneville requested a conditional discharge as he appreciated and enjoys the support of the treatment team. The doctor was surprised that he was requesting an absolute discharge at the hearing as he had been clear that he appreciated the support of his treatment team at the Hospital.

12. Mr. Quenneville has a bad back which makes it hard for him to get a job or volunteer position. The Hospital is helping him find things to do and is encouraging him to find things that would give him more structure in his day. He has many family members that live close to him. He lives within a half an hour walk from his parents’ home and sees them very often. He spends his time taking care of his home. He goes out to see family, runs errands and goes to coffee shops. He receives ODSP and this income has been sufficient to sustain him.

13. Dr. Adiele stated that the conditions of discharge should not be onerous and should be similar to his current disposition. In addition, Dr. Adiele stated the following:

• The treatment team was convinced that he had not used substances in the last 10 years but felt there would be no harm in having a condition restricting Mr. Quenneville from substance use;
• A firearm prohibition would be appropriate based on his history;
• Mr. Quenneville should report to the Hospital once per month; and
• His current accommodation should be listed as his address.

14. Dr. Adiele noted that Mr. Quenneville had been under the Ontario Review Board’s jurisdiction for 23 years and his current amount of liberty is the greatest that he has had in this time. Dr. Adiele stated that before he could be absolutely discharged the civil psychiatric system would have to be prepared to take over Mr. Quenneville’s care. This has not yet occurred, and Hospital support is still required for him.

15. Mr. Shultz asked Dr. Adiele about the conditions the Hospital thought were appropriate for Mr. Quenneville. The doctor provided the following recommendations/information:

• Mr. Quenneville should be required to live in his current apartment which is close to his parents’ home in Cornwall. The Hospital staff have found this accommodation to be appropriate and have stated that he does a good job maintaining it. Mr. Quenneville is able to do his own shopping for groceries and manage his own food.
• Dr. Adiele did not think that a term requiring Mr. Quenneville to consent to treatment was necessary as he has consistently consented to treatment in the past.
• Dr. Adiele felt that Mr. Quenneville would voluntarily return to Hospital if he were to become unwell.
• The treatment team currently sees Mr. Quenneville weekly but Dr. Adiele felt that it would be adequate for him to be required to report to the Hospital once per month in the coming year. Dr. Adiele noted that this could be increased if the treatment team felt that there was the need for this.

16. Dr. Adiele was asked what he would like to see before he would recommend an absolute discharge. He noted that Mr. Quenneville had recently moved to his current residence and the Hospital would like to see him maintain this accommodation for a longer period of time. He would also want Mr. Quenneville to stay away from conflict. Dr. Adiele stated that Mr. Quenneville has done very well in the community in the past year and if he could maintain this for the next 12 months, the Hospital would be likely to recommend a conditional discharge at his next annual review.

17. Dr. Adiele stated that Mr. Quenneville remained a significant threat to the safety of the public as he continued to receive a measurable amount of support in the community. He called in to the Hospital every night and was seen every week. Without this support, his risk would increase. Over the coming year, the Hospital plans to slowly withdraw this support for Mr. Quenneville and connect him to resources in the community. The Hospital typically begins looking for civil mental health supports once a patient receives a conditional discharge.

18. No further evidence was presented.

Submissions of the Parties

19. At the conclusion of the hearing the parties were asked for their final submissions. Dr. Adiele restated the Hospital’s position that Mr. Quenneville remained a significant threat to the safety of the public and the appropriate disposition was a conditional discharge.

20. Mr. Shultz joined with the Hospital’s position. He noted the evidence contained in the Hospital Report that assessed Mr. Quenneville’s risk of violent reoffending to be moderate as well as his previous criminal record. Counsel submitted that before an absolute discharge, Mr. Quenneville and the Hospital required more time to plan his transition to the civil mental health system. Mr. Shultz commended Mr. Quenneville on how well he had done over the previous year. He stated that he hoped to be in a position to support an absolute discharge at Mr. Quenneville’s next annual review.

21. Ms. Setia stated that Mr. Quenneville was living in the community in his own apartment; there had been no issues with taking his medication; he was proactive in pro-social activities in the community; and he was able to care for himself. Counsel clarified that Mr. Quenneville was requesting a conditional discharge, but counsel wanted the Board to consider whether he was ready for an absolute discharge. Ms. Setia noted that her client had had positive weekly visits with the FITT team and did benefit from engagement with this resource. She also noted that her client has been very active in seeking the support of the Hospital and would continue to do so regardless of the involvement of the ORB. Counsel stated that Mr. Quenneville was making great progress and she was confident that this would continue in the coming year.

Conclusion and Disposition

22. Having considered all of the evidence tendered at the hearing, and the submissions of the parties, the Board does find that Mr. Quenneville continues to pose a significant threat to the safety of the public as defined in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code of Canada and as further defined in the Supreme Court of Canada decision Winko v. British Columbia (Forensic Psychiatric Institute), 1999 CanLII 694 (SCC), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 625.

23. According to R. v. Winko, a significant threat to the safety of the public means a real risk of physical or psychological harm to members of the public that is serious in the sense of going beyond the merely trivial or annoying. The conduct giving rise to the harm must be criminal in nature.

24. In arriving at this determination, the Board considered the position of the parties and accepted the uncontroverted evidence of Dr. Adiele that, despite his positive year, Mr. Quenneville required more time to transition into the community before he will no longer pose a significant threat to the public. The Board also relies on the Hospital Report, which assessed Mr. Quenneville’s risk to the public as moderate, which was a significant reduction from prior risk assessments.

25. Mr. Quenneville has an extensive history of violence and antisocial behaviour; he has multiple personality disorders as well as an intellectual disability; he has had prior supervision failures and has limited employment history.

26. In the past year, Mr. Quenneville has moved into the community and found appropriate housing; he has engaged with his treatment team and has maintained mental stability. He has some community supports in place, mostly his family as well as the Hospital’s FITT team. The Board commends Mr. Quenneville for the positive year that he has had and finds that the risk he poses to the public can be adequately managed within the structure of a conditional discharge. It is hoped that Mr. Quenneville will continue on his current trajectory and will work with the Hospital to transition his mental health care to the civil system in the coming year.

27. We have taken into consideration the factors at s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code of Canada, namely the protection of the public, which is the paramount consideration, the mental condition of the accused, his reintegration into society and his other needs in coming to the unanimous finding that a Conditional Discharge Disposition is necessary and appropriate with the following terms and conditions:

• reside at 123 Belmont Street, Unit B, Cornwall, Ontario K6H 4Z2;
• report to the person in charge of the Brockville Mental Health Centre or their designate, not less than once per month;
• abstain absolutely from the non-medical use of alcohol or drugs or any other intoxicant;
• submit samples of their urine and/or breath to the person in charge of the Brockville Mental Health Centre, or their designate, for the purpose of analyzing whether the accused has ingested alcohol, drugs or any other intoxicant;
• refrain from having in their possession any firearm, ammunition or other offensive weapons, or being in the company of any person possessing a firearm other than a peace officer;
• advise the person in charge of the hospital or their designate, in advance, of any absence from their residence of 24 hours or more;
• refrain from contact or communication, direct or indirect, with Melanie Carrington;
• upon notice, attend before the Ontario Review Board as required; and
• keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

DATED this 20^th day of May, 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.

Ms. M. Chamberlain Legal Member

Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board