Ontario Review Board
Re: Chad M. Lawless
ORB File No: 8226
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: Chad M. Lawless
Counsel: Ms. M. Munsterman
The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. Linthorst
Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. K. Schultz
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated May 20, 2026)
Mr. Lawless was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on February 2, 2023, of assault causing bodily harm, contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. Mr. Lawless is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated April 24th, 2025, which detains him at the Forensic Unit of the Brockville Mental Health Centre with privileges up to and including to enter the community of Brockville, indirectly supervised.
On April 2nd, 2026, the Board convened a hearing at the Brockville Mental Health Centre, hereinafter referred to as the hospital, to conduct Mr. Lawless’ annual review hearing pursuant to section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Lawless was present at the hearing and represented by counsel, Ms. Munsterman. A hospital report dated February 27th, 2026, was entered as Exhibit No. 1 and a CPIC Response Report was entered as Exhibit No. 2.
The issues to be determined at the hearing were whether Mr. Lawless 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 which was also the least restrictive and least onerous taking into account the factors set out in section 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
Position of the Parties
Dr. Linthorst, on behalf of the Hospital, recommended a continuation of Mr. Lawless’ existing detention order with one change: namely an increase in Mr. Lawless’ requirement to report to the Hospital when living in the community to once every two weeks instead of once every month.
This position was supported by Mr. Shultz, on behalf of the Attorney General as well as Ms. Munsterman on behalf of Mr. Lawless.
The parties maintained their initial positions at the conclusion of the hearing.
Index Offences
- The index offences are summarized as follows in last year’s Reasons for Disposition which was taken from the Hospital Report:
“On August 13, 2022, police were initially called regarding a complaint of Mr. Lawless smoking crack and consuming alcohol adjacent to a restaurant patio, and it was only learned afterwards that the index offence occurred. Mr. Lawless was initially being arrested for an assault on one of the police officers, where he got up and had slapped the officer in the temple area. Observed on the ground at Mr. Lawless’ feet were apparently three cans of beer, where two was open and one was still sealed. There were also several cigarette butts in a pile as well as a crack pipe. After Mr. Lawless was arrested and placed in the police cruiser, information was received indicating that Mr. Lawless had also pushed over an individual within the vicinity, where this individual was found sitting on a chair only a few meters west of where Mr. Lawless was arrested.
According to the Crown Brief Synopsis, on this date, Mr. Lawless was in the area of 47 York Street, Ottawa, where he was consuming alcohol and drugs. He suddenly attacked an elderly man unknown to him and in an unprovoked manner, shoving the victim onto the roadway. As a result of being shoved to the ground, the victim’s right shoulder broke upon impact and he had to be transported to the Civic Hospital for treatment.”
Background History
Mr. Lawless’ personal history is set out in the Hospital Report, filed, as well as the reasons of the Board from last year. Both of these sources are drawn upon. Mr. Lawless was born in Wales, but the family moved to Ontario when he was about three. His parents separated when he was 12. This was very upsetting for him. Subsequently, he resided primarily with his father but visited his mother a few days per week.
Mr. Lawless did not do well in school and eventually was expelled due to truancy. He did not graduate high school. However, shortly afterwards he attended an adult learning centre and completed the remaining credit requirements for graduation. He has had multiple jobs, mostly as a labourer, but would often leave these positions due to conflicts with colleagues or wanting a change.
Mr. Lawless has a criminal record commencing in 2021 including convictions for assault causing bodily harm, mischief, and fail to comply with a probation order. He reported that the assault causing bodily harm conviction was related to an assault on his stepmother when he was unmedicated, actively psychotic, and believed she was harming the family dog.
Mr. Lawless also has a history in the mental health system. He was first admitted to a psychiatric facility in Terrace, British Columbia in 2016. He has had several admissions to Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Orillia, starting in July 2017 and more recently from April 23 to April 30, 2021. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, cannabis use disorder as well as drug-induced psychosis. During his admission in April 2021, he endorsed paranoid delusions about people conspiring against him, auditory hallucinations and thought disorder. After receiving a long-acting injectable antipsychotic, his mood stabilized but he continued to have paranoid and grandiose delusions.
Mr. Lawless was admitted to Waypoint in May 2021 for a fitness assessment and remained there after being found unfit and being placed on a ‘keep fit’ Order pursuant to section 672.29 of the Criminal Code. He was discharged in September 2021 with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and substance use disorder.
In January 2022 Mr. Lawless was brought to the Ottawa Hospital by police after exhibiting violent behaviour at his motel including throwing a microwave. He advised that he had been refusing medication since August 2021. He was discharged after two days.
Mr. Lawless was next admitted to hospital for a fitness assessment after being charged with the index offences. He was found unfit to stand trial, placed on a treatment order and admitted to North Bay Regional Health Centre. Upon admission, he had to be escorted to the seclusion room due to unmanageable and aggressive behaviour. After his antipsychotic medications were optimized, he became more settled, less angry, and less disorganized. He was returned to court and found fit.
Mr. Lawless started using cannabis at the age of sixteen and by 2017 he used it daily. It worsened his psychosis and exacerbated paranoia. Mr. Lawless has been using alcohol since the age of fourteen, and experimented with MDMA, LSD, psilocybin and cocaine.
Mr. Lawless’ current diagnoses are:
Schizophrenia
Cannabis Use Disorder - severe, in early remission
Evidence at the Hearing
The hospital’s evidence was presented through the oral testimony of Dr. Rhys Linthorst as well as the Hospital Report. This evidence is summarized below.
Dr. Linthorst stated that he was Mr. Lawless’ most responsible physician. He stated that he had reviewed the Hospital Report and agreed with the contents with one amendment. On page 38 of the Report, Dr. Crawfoot was listed as Mr. Lawless’ previous doctor, but it was actually Dr. Alabi.
Dr. Linthorst informed the Board that over the past year Mr. Lawless had had some ups and downs but had recently shown some improvement. With the exception of a brief period following an admission of substance use, Mr. Lawless has remained on the least restrictive unit in the Hospital. Mr. Lawless joined two structured therapeutic groups in the previous month: CBT for psychosis and CBT for substance use. These groups help Mr. Lawless with tools and strategies to deal with psychosis as well as coping skills to reduce substance use.
Mr. Lawless has continued to experience symptoms of a psychotic illness. He has had olfactory hallucinations and expressed concerns about his smell to others. In addition, he has continued to hear voices on a fairly regular basis. Mr. Lawless’ Abilify was increased and this helped with these symptoms.
Mr. Lawless’ insight was variable over the past year. Typically, Mr. Lawless has tried to hide his symptoms but, more recently, he was willing to discuss them with his treatment team and requested an increase in his medication to deal with them. This demonstrated an increase in his insight and willingness to engage with the treatment team.
Mr. Lawless has struggled with his substance use over the past reporting period. He reported having one puff of marijuana and 13 oz of vodka on one occasion. Dr. Linthorst noted that it was unlikely that alcohol usage would cause psychosis for Mr. Lawless, but it was still not a good idea for him to consume it.
Dr. Linthorst informed the Board that the treatment team has not engaged in any discharge planning but felt that if Mr. Lawless continued to do well, this could be started in the coming year.
Dr. Linthorst stated that, going forward, the Hospital would like to see Mr. Lawless continue the progress that he had made over the previous few months, continue attending and demonstrate learning from the CBT psychosis and CBT substance use groups and maintain abstinence for alcohol or drugs.
In response to questions from Mr. Lawless’ counsel, Dr. Linthorst stated the following:
Mr. Lawless’ engagement with his treatment team had greatly improved in the three months leading up to his annual review. He currently had the full range of privileges allowed at the Hospital.
He was more open about his symptoms and had asked for medication changes to address them. Mr. Lawless was able to see the benefit of his medication and understood its impact on his symptoms.
Mr. Lawless requested to attend hospital therapeutic groups. He was a model participant in the groups, did his homework and engaged actively. Dr. Linthorst stated that his involvement in the groups was reflective of real, active growth.
Mr. Lawless was doing all substance use treatment available to him at the Hospital, including Narcotics Anonamous. The Hospital was not recommending any other treatment for substance use at this time.
Mr. Lawless’ insight had also improved regarding the nature of the index offence and how it occurred. Dr. Linthorst expected Mr. Lawless’ insight to continue to improve.
Mr. Lawless had told the Hospital social worker that he wanted to work towards a meaningful life.
Once Mr. Lawless completed his current programming, the Hospital staff would begin planning his discharge.
- No further evidence was presented.
Conclusion and Disposition
Having considered all of the evidence the hearing, and the joint submissions of the parties, the Board does find that Mr. Lawless 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.
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.
Mr. Lawless’ symptoms of mental illness have fluctuated, and he has engaged in substance use in the past reporting period. His recent risk assessment suggests that he continues to have several risk factors for future violence. To his credit, Mr. Lawless has made recent gains and has demonstrated improved insight in the months leading up to his annual hearing.
While the Board is unanimous that he remains a significant threat to the safety of the public, we are encouraged by his recent progress and hope that this trajectory continues in the coming year. The current disposition will allow the Hospital to begin discharge planning for Mr. Lawless if he is able to maintain his current functioning.
The Board agrees with the Hospital that, given his substance use in the past reporting period, Mr. Lawless should be required to report to the person in charge not less than once every two weeks if he were to be living in the community.
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 detention order on the same terms and conditions, save and except an amendment to the frequency of reporting, remains necessary and appropriate and least onerous and least restrictive Disposition in all of the circumstances.
DATED this 20th day of May, 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.
Ms. M. Chamberlain
Legal Member
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Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board