Snoek (Re)
The Review Board had actively considered and rejected a conditional discharge and, given the appellant's refusal to take prescribed medication or accept long-acting medication, ongoing illegal drug use and history of fire setting, there was no air of reality to a conditional discharge; the Court will not craft...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2025 ONCA 454
- Parties
- Appellant: Donald Snoek; Respondent: Attorney General of Ontario; Respondent: Person in Charge, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
- Court
- Court of Appeal for Ontario
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 19 June 2025
- Procedural Posture
- Appeal Under Part Xx.1 of the Criminal Code / Court of Appeal Judgment on Appeal From Ontario Review Board
- Outcome
- Appeal dismissed
- Legal Topics
- Conditional Discharge, Review Board Disposition, Risk Assessment, Medication Compliance, Long Acting Injectable Medication
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
More case intelligence is available
Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.
Parties
Donald Snoek
Appellant
Attorney General of Ontario
Respondent
Person in Charge, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Appeal Under Part Xx.1 of the Criminal Code / Court of Appeal Judgment on Appeal From Ontario Review Board
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether a conditional discharge is appropriate given the appellant's refusal to take prescribed medication and refusal to accept long-acting medication, ongoing illegal drug use, and history of fire setting
- 2 Whether there is an 'air of reality' to a proposed conditional discharge in these circumstances
- 3 Whether an appellate court may craft or consider conditions not raised before the Review Board
Ratio Decidendi
The Review Board had actively considered and rejected a conditional discharge and, given the appellant's refusal to take prescribed medication or accept long-acting medication, ongoing illegal drug use and history of fire setting, there was no air of reality to a conditional discharge; the Court will not craft conditions not raised before the Board, so the appeal is dismissed.
Court Disposition
Appeal dismissed
Orders
- Appeal dismissed.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
Snoek (Re) Collection Decisions of the Court of Appeal Date 2025-06-19 Neutral citation 2025 ONCA 454 Docket numbers C70354 Judges Lauwers, Peter D.; Paciocco, David M.; Zarnett, Benjamin Subject Criminal Decision Content COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO CITATION: Snoek (Re), 2025 ONCA 454 DATE: 20250619 DOCKET: C70354 Lauwers, Paciocco & Zarnett JJ.A. IN THE MATTER OF: Donald Snoek AN APPEAL UNDER PART XX.1 OF THE CODE Anita Szigeti, for the appellant Keith Garrett, for the respondent Attorney General of Ontario Lisha Senko, for the respondent Person in Charge of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Heard and released orally: November 25, 2022 On appeal against the disposition of the Ontario Review Board dated, January 27, 2022, with reasons dated February 18, 2022. REASONS FOR DECISION [1] The appellant concedes that he remains a significant risk to public safety. However, he argues that the risk he poses can be adequately managed by a conditional discharge despite his refusal to take medication at the prescribed dose, his refusal to agree to a long-acting medication which would provide a good signal to the hospital when decompensation might be imminent, his penchant for illegal drug taking, and his record of a single instance of fire setting. [2] On the record, there is simply no air of reality to a conditional discharge disposition for the appellant at this time. The Review Board actively considered such a disposition and rejected it. [3] Although we were asked to consider how conditions not raised at the Board might be crafted and how they might work, that is not our function. Those submissions are better made by the appellant at the next hearing when the Board can address them based on evidence and actual requests for conditions. [4] The appeal is dismissed. “P. Lauwers J.A.” “David M. Paciocco J.A.” “B. Zarnett J.A.”