Foreign Hostage Takers Accountability Act
This legislative proposal would impose restrictive measures against foreign nationals, foreign states, and foreign entities that engage in hostage taking or arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations.
The Foreign Hostage Takers Accountability Act has its origins in Fighting Back Against Global Hostage-Taking: A Proposed New Act to Hold State and Terrorist Actors to Account, a report authored by Sarah Teich and published in January 2021 as a joint publication of the Canadian Coalition Against Terror (C-CAT, now Secure Canada) and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. The report set out the case for a legislative response to hostage diplomacy and included complete draft language for the proposed Act, which became the foundation of the bill.
From Research to Reform
The proposal became Bill C-353 when it was developed in close collaboration with MP Melissa Lantsman's office and introduced in September 2023, a few short weeks before the brutal hostage taking on October 7 in southern Israel. Bill C-353 passed second reading on June 5, 2024, and was under review by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development when Parliament was prorogued in January 2025, at which point it died on the Order Paper.
Secure Canada has remained fully engaged since, in partnership with Human Rights Action Group. We have updated and strengthened the draft legislation, incorporating lessons learned from Canadian and international experience, including testimony before parliamentary hearings in Canada and Australia and direct input from former hostages and the U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs. The updated amendments set out clear factors for determining whether a detention constitutes arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations, drawing on the U.S. Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and consolidate responsibility for family and detainee support under the Senior Official for Hostage Affairs. The finalized amendments have been shared with parliamentarians, including MP Lantsman's office, and we are working to see the updated bill reintroduced and carried through Parliament.
This work is international in scope. Report author Sarah Teich has testified on hostage-taking and wrongful detention before the Australian Parliament, and in 2026 published a peer-reviewed academic article advocating for the reintroduction and passage of Bill C-353 in Canada and for analogous legislation in Australia. Secure Canada and HRAG coordinate with international partners to align reform efforts across jurisdictions and build a unified democratic response to hostage diplomacy.
Why Does Foreign Hostage Taking Call for
a Legislative Solution?
How The Bill Works
Part 1
Empowers Canada to impose sanctions against foreign nationals, foreign states, and foreign entities that engage in, or are complicit in, the hostage taking of Canadian nationals. The types of sanctions that would be available mirror those that Canada uses in its Magnitsky Act.
Part 2
Provides a framework to ensure that the families of hostages receive consistent and reliable governmental support, including regular communication, help obtaining information, and referrals to mental health support.
Part 3
Encourages individuals to cooperate with the Government of Canada to secure the release of hostages and detained individuals, including through refugee protection and monetary rewards for foreign nationals who provide information leading to a hostage's release.