Hostage Taking (Sentencing Cases)

This page was last substantively updated or reviewed January 2019. (Rev. # 92964)

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Offence Wording

Hostage taking

279.1 (1) Everyone takes a person hostage who — with intent to induce any person, other than the hostage, or any group of persons or any state or international or intergovernmental organization to commit or cause to be committed any act or omission as a condition, whether express or implied, of the release of the hostage —

(a) confines, imprisons, forcibly seizes or detains that person; and

(b) in any manner utters, conveys or causes any person to receive a threat that the death of, or bodily harm to, the hostage will be caused or that the confinement, imprisonment or detention of the hostage will be continued.

Hostage-taking

(2) Every person who takes a person hostage is guilty of an indictable offence and liable

(a) if a restricted firearm or prohibited firearm is used in the commission of the offence or if any firearm is used in the commission of the offence and the offence is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organization, to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of

(i) in the case of a first offence, five years, and

(ii) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, seven years;

(a.1) in any other case where a firearm is used in the commission of the offence, to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of four years; and

(b) in any other case, to imprisonment for life.

Subsequent offences

(2.1) In determining, for the purpose of paragraph (2)(a) [hostage taking – punishment], whether a convicted person has committed a second or subsequent offence, if the person was earlier convicted of any of the following offences, that offence is to be considered as an earlier offence:

(a) an offence under this section;

(b) an offence under subsection 85(1) [use of firearm in commission of an offence] or (2) [use of an imitation firearm in commission of an offence] or section 244 [discharging firearm] or 244.2 [discharging firearm – recklessness]; or

(c) an offence under section 220 [criminal negligence causing death], 236 [manslaughter], 239 [attempted murder], 272 [sexual assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm] or 273 [aggravated sexual assault], subsection 279(1) [kidnapping] or section 344 [robbery] or 346 [extortion] if a firearm was used in the commission of the offence.

However, an earlier offence shall not be taken into account if 10 years have elapsed between the day on which the person was convicted of the earlier offence and the day on which the person was convicted of the offence for which sentence is being imposed, not taking into account any time in custody.

Sequence of convictions only

(2.2) For the purposes of subsection (2.1) [hostage taking – subsequent offences], the only question to be considered is the sequence of convictions and no consideration shall be given to the sequence of commission of offences or whether any offence occurred before or after any conviction.
(3) [Repealed, 2018, c. 29, s. 27]
R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 40; 1995, c. 39, s. 148; 2008, c. 6, s. 31; 2009, c. 22, s. 13; 2018, c. 29, s. 27.
[annotation(s) added]

– CCC (CanLII), (DOJ)

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Case Digests

Case Name	Prv.	Crt.	Sentence	Summary
2018
R v Ader, 2018 ONSC 2351 (CanLII), per R Smith J	ON	SC	15 years imprisonment	Find summaries of case.
2012
R v Lewers, 2012 OJ No 4554(*no CanLII links)	ON		7.5 years imprisonment	The offender was convicted of kidnapping and forcible confinement for 22 hours. He had a lengthy criminal record.
2010
R v Tse, 2010 BCSC 1273 (CanLII), 2010 BCJ No 1769, per Davies J	BC	SC	12 years imprisonment	Find summaries of case.
2005
R v Ribic, 2005 OJ No 4261(*no CanLII links)	ON		3 years + remand credit	The offender kidnapped 3 UN soldiers for 25 days. He was 21 years old.
2002
R v Li, 2002 CanLII 18077 (ON CA), per Finlayson JA	ON	CA	14 years imprisonment	The offender participated in kidnapping three persons who were held for 22 days. Find summaries of case.
1995
R v Hu, 1995 CanLII 2836 (BCCA), per Hinkson JA	BC	CA	14 years	The offender kidnapped for ransom. He held the victim for 7 days. Find summaries of case.