Re: Omar Omar
ORB File No: 6802
Hearing held on: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Place of hearing: Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
Pursuant to: Section 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code
Before:
Alternate Chairperson: Mr. P. Capelle
Members: Dr. R. Kunjukrishnan (via Zoom)
Dr. L.O. Lightfoot
Ms. C. Murray
Ms. M. McKinnon
Parties Appearing:
Accused: Omar Omar
Counsel: Ms. M. Perez
Person in charge of hospital: Representative: Ms. T. Newman
Attorney-General of Ontario: Counsel: Ms. J. Armenise
REASONS FOR DISPOSITION
(Dated June 2, 2026)
Introduction
On July 15, 2015, Mr. Omar Omar was found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (“NCR”) on charges of assault, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, fail to comply with probation order and breach of recognizance, all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (“Criminal Code”). Mr. Omar is currently subject to a Disposition of the Ontario Review Board (“ORB” or “Board”) dated May 8, 2025, detaining him at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care – High Secure Provincial Forensic Programs, Penetanguishene (“Waypoint” or “the hospital”). He has privileges up to and including hospital grounds privileges, beyond the secure perimeter, escorted by staff.
On May 6, 2026, a panel of the Board convened to review Mr. Omar’s Disposition pursuant to s. 672.81(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Omar was represented by Ms. Mercedes Perez throughout the hearing.
Exhibits were marked as follows:
Exhibit 1: Hospital Report, April 14, 2026;
Exhibit 2: Rule 13 Response from St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, April 29, 2026;
Exhibit 3: Rule 13 Response from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, May 5, 2026;
Exhibit 4: Rule 13 Response from The Royal, April 30, 2026.
- The issues to be decided at the hearing were whether Mr. Omar continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public as set out in s. 672.5401 of the Criminal Code, and, if so, what is the necessary and appropriate Disposition to manage that risk having regard to the criteria set out in s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code.
Position of the Parties
At the outset of the hearing, the parties were asked for their initial without prejudice positions. On behalf of the hospital, Ms. Newman took the position that Mr. Omar remains a significant threat to the safety of the public, and that a Detention Order with no change to the terms and conditions was necessary and appropriate.
Ms. Armenise supported the position of the hospital on behalf of the Attorney General.
Ms. Perez did not contest the issue of significant threat. She requested a transfer to a secure unit at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (“The Royal”), or the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH”), or St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (“SJHH”), with Mr. Omar’s preference being The Royal.
The parties maintained their respective positions in closing submissions.
Findings
- For the reasons set out below, the panel found that Mr. Omar continues to pose a significant threat to public safety. The panel concluded that the necessary and appropriate Disposition, which is also the least onerous and least restrictive in the circumstances, is a continuation of the Detention Order at Waypoint with no change to the terms and conditions.
Index Offences
- The circumstances of the index offences are taken from last year’s Reasons for Disposition as follows:
“The index offences occurred on June 13, 2015. The details of those offences as summarized by the police and then through Mr. Omar’s own self-report, are set out at great length in the hospital report. Briefly, at the time of the index offences, Mr. Omar was hospitalized on a form 1 for psychiatric assessment. He wanted to leave and was upset when told he could not. After being told he could not leave, among other things, he assaulted a patient and threatened the doctor.
While the hospital report does not say so explicitly, it can be inferred from Mr. Omar’s criminal record that the remaining two index offences of failure to comply with probation order and failure to comply with a condition of a recognizance arose because the assault and threatening on June 13, 2015, breached terms of the probation order he was subject to as a result of convictions in March and April 2015. Those convictions included assaults and fail to comply with recognizance, among others.”
Background and Course During the Reporting Period
The Hospital Report describes Mr. Omar’s background in detail and need not be repeated here extensively. Briefly, Mr. Omar is a 41-year-old man who immigrated to Canada in 1998 at the age of 14 from Somalia. He dropped out of school in grade 11. He worked as a cleaner in 2002 or 2003 and stocking shelves in approximately 2008 / 2009. He has been supported by the Ontario Disability Support Program since 2007.
Mr. Omar first used alcohol at age 17. He began using cannabis while in high school.
Mr. Omar has the following psychiatric diagnoses:
Schizoaffective Disorder;
Cannabis Use Disorder, moderate;
Alcohol Use Disorder, moderate;
Intellectual Developmental Disorder (Intellectual Disability), mild.
Mr. Omar was first diagnosed with schizophrenia during a court ordered assessment in 2006. At that time, he was charged with assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm with respect to an assault on an acquaintance with a baseball bat.
Mr. Omar is incapable of consenting to his psychiatric treatment. The Public Guardian and Trustee is his substitute decision-maker.
During the reporting year, Mr. Omar resided on the Beausoleil A Program, which is one of the hospital’s least structured units.
In August 2025, Mr. Omar’s long-acting injectable antipsychotic medication, Haloperidol, was discontinued as he reported finding it painful. He told Dr. Mishra that he wished to take only oral medications and would report any changes when discharged to the community. In the absence of Haloperidol, Mr. Omar appeared unsettled, fidgety, and paranoid at times. Throughout December 2025, Mr. Omar was observed compulsively touching his face and arms, and staring. The clinical notes in January 2026, suggest that Mr. Omar was experiencing paranoia as he was looking over his shoulder and staring. On March 6, 2026, Mr. Omar asked Dr. Mishra to restart Haloperidol at a 100mg dose because he was “thinking too much” since stopping the medication.
On March 6, 2026, the long-acting injectable medication, Haloperidol, was administered. There was an improvement in Mr. Omar’s mental state within two weeks of the injection, including better sleep, improvements feeling relaxed, and a better overall demeanor. However, on March 19, 2026, Mr. Omar requested to discontinue the Haloperidol once again, insisting that he did not need any medication and had never been ill. Again, on March 26, 2026, Mr. Omar requested that the Haloperidol be discontinued because it was causing him to have a hoarse voice. He made bizarre statements such as, “I can see the people in my future.” He refused to elaborate further. He made statements that suggested he was experiencing hallucinations. Mr. Omar agreed to take olanzapine orally. However, on April 13, 2026, Mr. Omar refused any medication except his nighttime quetiapine.
On July 4, 2025, Mr. Omar was secluded for one day after he angrily reacted to not having an additional evening snack.
Mr. Omar achieved the highest security level (C5) twice during the reporting period. His security level was reduced five times due to a change in mental state.
Mr. Omar agreed to complete a psychological risk assessment this year. The Risk Summary found at page 114 of the Hospital Report states:
“Based on all available information, Mr. Omar’s long-term risk of violent
reoffending absent the oversight from the ORB is high. His risk for violent
reoffending is moderately low in a high secure environment. In a secure
setting, his risk for violence is moderately high. If he were to adhere to his
medication consistently, his risk for violence in a secure environment
would decrease.”
Oral Evidence at the Hearing
Dr. Mishra, Mr. Omar’s attending psychiatrist, provided oral evidence at the hearing as follows.
The risk assessment at pages 115 to 118 of the Hospital Report forms the bases of Dr. Mishra’s opinion regarding significant threat.
Mr. Omar remains incapable of consenting to psychiatric treatment. Mr. Omar does not believe that he is mentally ill, and he believes that treatment is not necessary.
Mr. Omar was doing well on haloperidol, but he complained of pain at the injection site, which led him to request discontinuation of the haloperidol injection. Dr. Mishra cautioned Mr. Omar that he would likely experience a decompensation in his mental status, but Mr. Omar wished to discontinue the medication, nonetheless. The treatment team noticed that Mr. Omar’s mental status started to decompensate by January 2026. By March 2026 Mr. Omar requested to go back on haloperidol because he was overthinking too much. He had one injection of haloperidol, improved slightly mentally, and then two weeks later requested to discontinue the injection of haloperidol once again, stating that he wished to take olanzapine instead. Mr. Omar discontinued olanzapine. In April 2026, Mr. Omar experienced a significant decline in his mental state. Mr. Omar cooperated with receiving a loading dose of paliperidone and he is now experiencing an improvement in his mental state. Paliperidone is not likely to cause as much inflammation at the injection site. The treatment team will be switching Mr. Omar to a quarterly injection of paliperidone so that he has fewer injection site complaints.
Mr. Omar’s mental illness would be best managed with clozapine, but he refuses to take it.
A transfer to The Royal would be challenging because Mr. Omar does not accept that he committed the index offences. He continues to lack insight, remains symptomatic, and has been ambivalent about his medications while also having limited engagement with the treatment team for rehabilitative services.
Mr. Omar’s risk for violence is moderate low in a high secure setting, but his risk is high in a less secure setting. The treatment team is not recommending a transfer this year.
In the coming year, Dr. Mishra would like to see Mr. Omar work with vocational services to become engaged in an activity he likes. Mr. Omar should engage in a substance use program. Substance use counselling has been offered to Mr. Omar regularly, but Mr. Omar has declined every time.
In response to questions of the Crown, Dr. Mishra stated that, if Mr. Omar were transferred to a less secure hospital, Mr. Omar would not have as many freedoms as he has at Waypoint. In order to progress to a less secure hospital, Dr. Mishra would like to see a stabilization of Mr. Omar’s mental status, utilizing time productively, engagement in group therapy and counselling, and compliance to medication.
Mr. Omar grew up in the Ottawa area. He has not provided a consent for the treatment team to speak with his family. There are no contacts in Ottawa he wishes to be close to.
In response to questions of Ms. Perez, Dr. Mishra testified that despite Mr. Omar’s mental status decompensations, he has remained housed on the Beausoleil program, which is one of the less structured units.
Dr. Mishra stated that in hindsight his initial recommendation for a transfer to The Royal was premature. Mr. Omar’s behaviours are not suitable for transfer to a medium secure hospital. Mr. Omar’s mental status decline was precipitous when he stopped accepting paliperidone despite using a lot of PRN medications. Mr. Omar frequently voices frustration at his length of time at Waypoint, which indicates his lack of insight into his illness and need for treatment.
Mr. Omar is now more likely to be compliant with the long-acting injectable paliperidone since it is likely he will have fewer injection site complaints given that the injection frequency will be reduced to once every three months. The treatment team will not be discontinuing Mr. Omar’s long-acting injectable again.
In response to questions of the Board, Dr. Mishra said that he believes that Mr. Omar’s deportation order may still be in effect.
No further evidence was called by the parties.
Submissions
- In submissions, the parties maintained their initial positions. With respect to the request for a transfer, the hospital stated that it was too early to make a recommendation for a transfer to a less secure hospital. Mr. Omar is ambivalent about taking medication, he is not open with the treatment team regarding his symptoms, and he lacks insight. All this causes his risk to be too high to recommend a transfer. The hospital would like to see a longer period of stability prior to making a recommendation for a transfer. The Crown echoed the hospital’s submissions. Ms. Perez maintained her request for a transfer noting that Mr. Omar’s behaviours were not unmanageable despite the period he was off medication. She requested that the Board take into consideration the fact that waitlists for transfers can be long.
Analysis and Conclusions
Having heard and considered the entirety of the evidence, as well as the joint submission of the parties regarding significant risk, the Board independently concluded that Mr. Omar continues to represent a significant threat to the safety of the public.
Since the initial NCR finding, Mr. Omar has been convicted of additional offences including assault and sexual assault. He has served time in corrections as a dual status offender until May 2, 2022, when he was admitted to Waypoint.
Mr. Omar suffers from schizoaffective disorder, cannabis use disorder and alcohol use disorder, along with a mild intellectual disability. He can be violent when he is experiencing active symptoms, which has occurred in the recent past.
Mr. Omar has required seclusion during this reporting period.
Mr. Omar’s insight into his illness and need for medication is lacking. This reporting period he has requested discontinuation of his medication and is unable to understand or accept the benefits of medication. Given his lack of insight and recent ambivalence toward medication, Mr. Omar remains a significant risk to the safety of the public.
Absent the oversight of the ORB and the intensive structure and supervision at Waypoint under a Detention Disposition, Mr. Omar’s risk of harm to others would substantially increase.
Mr. Omar has requested a transfer to three different hospitals, each of which do not support his transfer. Given this fact, and the struggles Mr. Omar has experienced this year regarding medication compliance, mental status decompensation, and the lack of insight into his illness and need for treatment, the Board finds that Mr. Omar is not suitable for a transfer. The Board agrees with and relies on the Risk Summary at page 113 of the Hospital report, extracted as follows:
“Based on all available information, Mr. Omar’s long-term risk of violent
reoffending absent the oversight from the ORB is high. His risk for violent
reoffending is moderately low in a high secure environment. In a secure
setting, his risk for violence is moderately high. If he were to adhere to his
medication consistently, his risk for violence in a secure environment
would decrease.
Mr. Omar has enjoyed only a short period of stability since treatment with paliperidone started. There are still adjustments to be made to the frequency of the injections. A transfer would be premature. The Board and Mr. Omar’s treatment team would like to see a longer period of stability before further consideration of a transfer.
The panel finds that a continuation of the Detention Order as set out in our formal Disposition is necessary and appropriate, and the least onerous and least restrictive Disposition for Mr. Omar at this time.
DATED this 2nd day of June 2026, at the City of Toronto, in the Region of Toronto.
Ms. C. Murray
Legal Member
__________________
Office of the Registrar
Ontario Review Board