Re Abdimalik Abdullahi, 2026 CanLII 51044

Ontario Review Board

Re: Abdimalik Abdullahi

ORB File No: 5854

Hearing held on: Wednesday, April 22, 2026 Place of Hearing: Brockville Mental Health Centre Via Zoom Videoconference

Pursuant to: Section 672.81(2.1) of the Criminal Code

Before: Alternate Chairperson: Mr. C. Flanagan Members: Dr. R. Sheppard Dr. L. Lightfoot Ms. A. La Viola Ms. R. Chopra

Parties Appearing: Accused: Abdimalik Abdullahi Counsel: Ms. A. Dupras The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Dr. J. Gojer Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. E. Davies

REASONS FOR DECISION

(Dated May 22, 2026)

Introduction

1On April 19, 2011, Abdimalik Abdullahi, was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on two charges of utter a threat to cause death or bodily harm, one charge of assault, and causing a disturbance in a public place, all contrary to the Criminal Code.

2Mr. Abdullahi is currently subject to a disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated August 7, 2025, which detains him at the Secure Forensic Unit of the hospital with privileges up to and including living in the community in accommodation approved by the person in charge within a 150km radius of Brockville.

3Pursuant to s. 672.56(2)(b) of the Criminal Code, the Board was notified by a letter dated March 13, 2026, from the Brockville Mental Health Centre (“BMHC”) regarding Mr. Abdullahi’s restriction of liberty.

4On April 22, 2026, a panel of the Board convened, through Zoom audio video technology, to conduct a review of Mr. Abdullahi’s restriction of liberty, pursuant to s. 672.81(2.1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Abdullahi’s counsel, Ms. A. Dupras, attended the hearing, as did Mr. Abdullahi.¹

5There were three exhibits filed at the hearing which included a Notice of Restriction of Liberty letter from BMHC, dated March 13, 2026, a Board Response letter, dated March 13, 2026, and a Hospital Report dated April 22, 2026, filed as Exhibits 1-3 respectively at the hearing.

6The sole issue to be considered at this hearing is whether the restriction on liberty imposed on Mr. Abdullahi was necessary and appropriate, and the least onerous and least restrictive intervention in the circumstances, both initially and ongoing at the time of the hearing.

7For reasons set out below, this Board concluded that the restriction on liberty imposed on Mr. Abdullahi was necessary and appropriate, and the least onerous and least restrictive in circumstances, both initially when imposed and ongoing at the time of the hearing.

Initial Position of the Parties

8At the outset of the hearing, the parties were canvassed for their initial recommendations to the Board.

9Dr. Gojer, on behalf of the Hospital, submitted that the restriction of liberty imposed on Mr. Abdullahi ongoing at the time of the hearing was warranted, necessary and appropriate.

10Ms. Davies, on behalf of the Attorney General of Ontario, submitted that the initial restriction of liberty was necessary and appropriate at the time and continues to be at the time of the hearing.

11Ms. Dupras, on behalf of Mr. Abdullahi, submitted that the restriction of liberty was being contested.

Index Offence

12The circumstances giving rise to the index offences are taken from last year’s Reasons for Disposition, dated August 20, 2025, as follows:

“According to the police report, Mr. Abdullahi was staying at the Shepherds of Good Hope and is alleged to have been disorganized and making statements that seemed ‘delusional.’ He is then alleged to have threatened to kill a staff member of the shelter. When he was told that police would be called, he alleged stated he would kill them as well and fled the shelter. Upon his return, he was then warned to leave the premises or else the police would be called. He allegedly continued to become agitated and threatening. At one point, he allegedly pushed a shelter staff from behind.”

Background/ Psychiatric History

13As the only issue before the Board was the restriction of Mr. Abdullahi’s liberty, there is no need in these Reasons to detail the circumstances of his personal and/or psychiatric history, which is extensively set out in the Hospital Report filed as Exhibit 3 at the hearing.

14Mr. Abdullahi is a 47-year-old single man supported by the Ontario Disability Support Program (“ODSP”). He has a significant past medical history that includes Type 2 diabetes mellitus, a previous right below-knee amputation (with current use of a prosthetic limb), a history of pulmonary emboli, and a history of leg ischemia.

15At the time of the hearing, he was an inpatient at BMHC.

Current Diagnosis

16Mr. Abdullahi’s current diagnoses are Schizoaffective Disorder, Substance Use Disorder (Cannabis and Stimulants).

Evidence at the Hearing

17The Hospital’s evidence was presented through the oral testimony of Dr. J. Gojer to supplement the Hospital Report filed as an exhibit at the hearing.

18On January 26, 2026, Mr. Abdullahi transferred to a new group home, Hope Living Residence, in Ottawa. On March 6, 2026, he was readmitted to hospital at BMHC.

19Mr. Abdullahi showed warning signs of decompensation in the three months leading to his readmission to hospital. According to the Hospital Report, team members familiar with him identified his behaviour (including intently staring at others at his group home and endorsing auditory hallucinations of family members' voices) as early warning signs of decompensation. In the days prior to admission, he refused his long-acting injectable (“LAI”) antipsychotic medication and requested a reduction in his clozapine dose.

20On March 6, 2026, the day of his admission to the BMHC, Mr. Abdullahi was refusing his clozapine medication. The doctor advised that when Mr. Abdullahi does not take his medication, he becomes ill very quickly, misinterprets what people say and do, resulting in an escalation of risk to the public. He highlighted that Mr. Abdullahi has a history of violent aggression towards people. When off his medication, hallucinations and delusional beliefs rise to the surface and become intense, and his acting out increases exponentially and is very high. In such circumstances, Dr. Gojer advised he had no option other than an admission to hospital when Mr. Abdullahi decided to stop his clozapine medication.

21Mr. Abdullahi was endorsing auditory hallucinations, specifically hearing the voices of children and his brother yelling, which he described as distressing. On March 9, 2026, he emerged from his room as a nurse was walking past in the hallway and threw cold water from a cup onto her face. He was subsequently placed in seclusion. Mr. Abdullahi consistently refused his clozapine medication. Dr. Gojer advised Mr. Abdullahi was capable to consenting to treatment. In any event, he explained that even if not capable to consent to treatment, you cannot force him to take his oral clozapine medication.

22Dr. Adiele² subsequently prescribed olanzapine to replace clozapine, which Mr. Abdullahi accepted together with his antipsychotic injectable medication. Dr. Gojer stated that he had previously been opposed olanzapine because Mr. Abdullahi suffers from diabetes and olanzapine is known to increase blood sugar. In this regard, Dr, Gojer explained that Mr. Abdullahi’s dose of metformin and/or insulin can be increased to focus on his psychiatric wellness.

23Dr. Adiele advised Dr. Gojer on the morning of the hearing that Mr. Abdullahi was settling down and improving on olanzapine and there was no plan to return to clozapine. Dr. Gojer advised that although less effective in the complete remission of symptoms, olanzapine may allow Mr. Abdullahi to become stable enough to allow for a discharge. Dr. Gojer confirmed that Hope Living Residence, Mr. Abdullahi’s previous group home in Ottawa, remained available.

24Dr. Gojer advised that Mr. Abdullahi wishes to move to independent living. He has lived in such accommodation in the past with considerable support from hospital staff. Dr. Gojer advised that in the last two months Mr. Abdullahi was experiencing auditory hallucinations in which people in the group home were insulting him. In this regard, Dr. Gojer believed Mr. Abdullahi may be better living on his own with the appropriate support. In this regard, the doctor explained there were two ways this could happen. Mr. Abdullahi could be given an occupational assessment while at BMHC or in the alternative, should he eventually be discharged back to his group home in Ottawa, an outpatient occupational assessment could be arranged.

25Dr. Gojer was asked about the timing of a discharge. He stated that in the last month, Mr. Abdullahi has become more stable and is moving in the right direction. He explained that the treatment team needs to ensure that the improvements are in a positive direction rather than fluctuating back and forth in a negative direction. It may be that his olanzapine medication will still need to be adjusted to address ongoing positive symptoms. Dr. Gojer advised that a discharge from hospital at this point is premature and reiterated that he wants to ensure the gains made continue and the trajectory is not going to slip back. The doctor highlighted that there needs to be a further period of a week or two in hospital to ensure medication compliance and continued stability on the new medication. He elaborated that once Mr. Abdullahi’s risk is assessed as low and manageable in the community, he could be discharged. Asked about a Community Treatment Order (“CTO”), Dr. Gojer stated that this is something that may be looked at down the road, when there is confidence that Mr. Abdullahi was not going to stop his medication, and his risk remained manageable.

26No further evidence was called at the hearing.

Final Submissions of the Parties

27Dr. Gojer, on behalf of the Hospital, maintained his initial position. Relying on his own evidence and the Hospital Report, he reiterated that the restriction and ongoing detention in hospital is necessary and warranted.

28Ms. Davies, on behalf of the Attorney General of Ontario, relied on the evidence of Dr. Gojer and the Hospital Report and submitted that the restriction of liberty was necessary and appropriate both initially and ongoing at the time of the hearing. She submitted that Mr. Abdullahi was displaying symptoms of aggression and there was a decrease in insight leading to his admission. This was against a background of past rapid decompensation. Following the admission there was aggression towards staff, limited insight and Mr. Abdullahi was still experiencing auditory hallucinations directly relating to his risk to the public.

29Ms. Davies submitted that despite some gains, a discharge from hospital at this point is premature. Mr. Abdullahi has declined clozapine, the most successful drug in manging symptoms, and has elected instead to go on olanzapine. The hospital is seeking evidence of continued stability with ongoing compliance with his olanzapine medication prior to a discharge. She submitted that discharge planning is underway with discussion about returning to different group homes with an occupational assessment to assess the feasibility of independent living. She referenced 2022, and 2023 when he became non-compliant with medication and experienced rapid decompensation. She submitted that a discharge today is not appropriate and continuing the discharge planning under the restriction is necessary and appropriate.

30Ms. Dupras, on behalf of Mr. Abdullahi, submitted that when looking at the least restrictive and least onerous options, there are alternatives that would achieve the same goal. For example, at this point Mr. Abdullahi is stable and a further period in hospital is not necessary given the alternative that he can return to his previous supported group home which mitigates the risk substantially. She submitted that the evidence at the time of the restriction was clear and that Mr. Abdullahi is happy there is a discharge plan in place.

31Mr. Abdullahi was given an opportunity for submissions. He submitted that he liked Dr. Gojer. He submitted that clozapine medication caused mental deterioration and incontinence. There were times he could not remember what he did. He stated he feels better without the clozapine medication. He submitted he is not a violent person, has enjoyed jobs interacting with people in the past, and looks forward to working again.

Analysis and Conclusion

32Pursuant to the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Regina v. M.L.C.³, the Board must consider not only the reason for the restriction and the initial decision to impose a restriction, but also the ongoing circumstances of the person for the period that the restriction remains in place including up to the time of review. The initial restriction of liberty and ongoing restriction of liberty must be the least onerous and least restrictive, necessary for public safety and the NCR accused.

33This Board accepts the evidence of Dr. Gojer, and the evidence contained in the Hospital Report, filed as Exhibit 3 at the hearing. This Board finds unanimously that the restriction of liberty imposed on Mr. Abdullahi on March 6, 2026, continuing at the time of the hearing was necessary and appropriate and represented the least onerous and least restrictive measure at the time it was imposed and throughout its duration.

34Mr. Abdullahi exhibited warning signs of decompensation at his group home in the months leading to his admission despite apparent compliance with his medication regimen. These symptoms involved delusional thoughts and behaviour. On March 6, 2026, the day of his admission, he indicated he was stopping his clozapine medication risking further accelerated deterioration. In the past, this has led to increased psychosis and violence towards other persons. With a high risk of acting out, Mr. Abdullahi needed to be taken out of the group home and returned to hospital. In this regard, this Board finds that his initial restriction of liberty admitting him to BMHC was warranted, appropriate and necessary.

35This Board also finds that Mr. Abdullahi’s ongoing restriction is warranted. Mr. Abdullahi continued to exhibit auditory hallucinations and aggressive behaviour following his hospital admission, initially requiring a period of seclusion. Notably he was refusing to take his clozapine medication. In addition, after a month in hospital, Mr. Abdullahi continued to experience referential ideation consistent with paranoid misinterpretation of overheard conversations. Although Mr. Abdullahi’s began to improve with a switch to olanzapine medication, he was still experiencing some positive symptoms of his illness approximately two weeks before the hearing. Given the concerning history when Mr. Abdullahi becomes psychotic, it is clear there needs to be a further period in hospital to ensure medication compliance and most importantly, that the olanzapine medication is effectively addressing the symptoms of his illness and allowing ongoing mental stability to mitigate and/or manage risk. Accordingly, this Board finds the ongoing restriction of liberty is warranted, necessary and appropriate.

36On a positive note, Mr. Abdullahi is showing continued improvement and appears content on his new medication. He has a good relationship with both Dr. Gojer and Dr. Adiele and is looking forward to returning to the community. In this regard, his previous group home remains available. This Board wishes Mr. Abdullahi well in a safe return to community living.

37In conclusion, the Board finds that the restriction of liberty imposed on Mr. Abdullahi on March 6, 2026, and ongoing at the time of the hearing was necessary and appropriate and represented the least onerous and least restrictive measure at the time it was imposed and throughout its duration.

Footnotes

1. 1At the onset of the hearing, Mr. Abdullahi indicated that in addition to his counsel, he wished to ask questions of the doctor. After meetings with his counsel, and a meeting with Mr. Abdullahi, his counsel and Dr. Gojer, Mr. Abdullahi confirmed he wanted Ms. Dupras to represent him at the hearing. The hearing proceeded with his counsel asking questions. Mr. Abdullahi was given the opportunity at the end of the evidence to make a submission.
2. 2Dr. A. Adiele was Mr. Abdullahi’s treating psychiatrist at BMHC.
3. 3(2010) ONCA 843.