Pass Jason's Exception: Hold Every Kidnapper Accountable When a Victim Dies
The Issue
My name is Tara Brown, and I am Jason John Brown's sister.
In March 2019, Jason was brutally kidnapped and murdered. He was 43 years old. His body was found on the side of a road, 200 km away from where he was taken.
What happened in court is why I am asking for your signature. Because the Crown could not prove whose specific actions caused Jason's death, the people charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping were allowed to plead down — to manslaughter, aggravated assault, and accessory after the fact. All four had already spent over a year in custody by then. One received 8 years and will serve just over 6. One walked out of court the day she pleaded guilty. One got 5 extra days. One got 11 extra months. And I believe, more people were involved who have never been named, because no one would come forward. They are still out there.
Under Canadian law today, just staying silent after learning the victim died is not a crime. Silence protects the group — and in Jason's case, it worked.
Jason's Exception — The Kidnapping and Homicide Accountability Act — would change that. It asks Parliament to:
Create a distinct offence of kidnapping resulting in death, so every participant is accountable for the death when they knew or ought to have known it could happen.
Make it a crime for a participant to stay silent after learning the victim died — and a more serious crime to help cover it up.
End plea deals without the full truth: no reduced sentence unless the participant comes forward early, tells exactly what happened, and names who was involved.
Set a minimum sentence of 15 years for direct participants.
Credit pre-trial custody 1 day for 1 day — no extra credit.
This applies only to people who took part in a kidnapping. It would never require a victim or a survivor to report anything.
This law cannot change what happened to Jason, and it cannot re-sentence anyone. It is for the next family — so no other family has to watch the people who took their loved one walk away while the people who know the truth stay silent and add to the family's pain.
Please sign and share. Every signature tells Parliament that this matters.
— Tara Brown, Ontario
Founder, The Hope Hubb — thehopehubb.ca
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The Issue
My name is Tara Brown, and I am Jason John Brown's sister.
In March 2019, Jason was brutally kidnapped and murdered. He was 43 years old. His body was found on the side of a road, 200 km away from where he was taken.
What happened in court is why I am asking for your signature. Because the Crown could not prove whose specific actions caused Jason's death, the people charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping were allowed to plead down — to manslaughter, aggravated assault, and accessory after the fact. All four had already spent over a year in custody by then. One received 8 years and will serve just over 6. One walked out of court the day she pleaded guilty. One got 5 extra days. One got 11 extra months. And I believe, more people were involved who have never been named, because no one would come forward. They are still out there.
Under Canadian law today, just staying silent after learning the victim died is not a crime. Silence protects the group — and in Jason's case, it worked.
Jason's Exception — The Kidnapping and Homicide Accountability Act — would change that. It asks Parliament to:
Create a distinct offence of kidnapping resulting in death, so every participant is accountable for the death when they knew or ought to have known it could happen.
Make it a crime for a participant to stay silent after learning the victim died — and a more serious crime to help cover it up.
End plea deals without the full truth: no reduced sentence unless the participant comes forward early, tells exactly what happened, and names who was involved.
Set a minimum sentence of 15 years for direct participants.
Credit pre-trial custody 1 day for 1 day — no extra credit.
This applies only to people who took part in a kidnapping. It would never require a victim or a survivor to report anything.
This law cannot change what happened to Jason, and it cannot re-sentence anyone. It is for the next family — so no other family has to watch the people who took their loved one walk away while the people who know the truth stay silent and add to the family's pain.
Please sign and share. Every signature tells Parliament that this matters.
— Tara Brown, Ontario
Founder, The Hope Hubb — thehopehubb.ca
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Petition created on October 23, 2026