March 28, 2011 VANCOUVER, B.C. – Today, the Supreme Court of British Columbia will begin hearing closing statements from parties involved in the Constitutional Reference on Polygamy. The Christian Legal Fellowship anticipates presenting its arguments in support of the law on Friday, April 1, while the entire process should conclude by April 14. After a landmark decision, the Court will be allowing major media outlets (CBC and Global TV) to televise and webcast the arguments so the general public can watch.
Globe and Mail, March 17 2011: Canada’s ban on polygamy invites the state into the bedrooms of consenting adults, says a B.C. civil rights group that is siding with a controversial religious sect in a landmark court case on the federal law barring multiple marriage. The BC Civil Liberties Association has filed a final argument in B.C. Supreme Court against the polygamy law, saying it is a Victorian-era statute that should be “relegated to the scrap heap of history.” Read more
VANCOUVER, B.C. – Today, the Supreme Court of British Columbia will hear testimony from an economist and expert on polygamy who has found that “polygamy is associated with undesirable economic, societal, physical, and emotional factors related to women’s wellbeing.” The Christian Legal Fellowship is presenting Dr. Shoshana Grossbard to the Court as its witness because of her extensive research on the cross-cultural effects polygamy has on women and society.
ARPA Note: Our director was able to sit in on this case yesterday in the Vancouver court. Given that “religious freedom” is being used to argue to overturn our Criminal Code’s provisions against polygamy, this will be a difficult case for the Christians who are taking part (REAL Women, and Christian Legal Fellowship). It is likely that it could go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Christian Legal Fellowship has provided us with a list of prayer requests (available here).
For Immediate Release from the CHRISTIAN LEGAL FELLOWSHIP: November 18, 2010
London, ON – On Monday, November 22, 2010, the Supreme Court of British Columbia will begin hearing opening statements in the Constitutional Reference on Polygamy (“Reference”). The Reference was brought by the Attorney General of British Columbia; it asks the Court to determine whether, or to what extent, section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada (“Code”), the section outlawing polygamy, is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”).
Legalized Polygamy on our Doorstep: All the More Reason for a Royal Commission on the Family
By Mark Penninga (First published in Reformed Perspective Magazine, 2009)
Nearly hidden in the Creston Valley of South Eastern British Columbia is a Mormon community called Bountiful. For years it has been a well-known fact that polygamy is alive and well in Bountiful. The residents may have wanted privacy, but the media continually reported on the goings-on of this fundamentalist sect.
Finally, in January of this year, the RCMP charged Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler, two leaders in Bountiful, with practicing polygamy. After all, Section 293 of Canada’s Criminal Code clearly prohibits it. Why did it take so long to intervene? The BC Attorney General, Wally Oppal, knew very well that the law against polygamy may not hold up to a Charter challenge. According to an article from the Institute for Canadian Values, he stated “There’s been some suggestions that if two or more women want to marry a man, or vice versa, and they all do it by consent, what business does the state have intervening in that?”
ARPA Note: Read our article “Polygamy on the Doorstep” by clicking here. It includes the action item calling on our government officials to conduct a Royal Commission on the Family.
CTV.ca News Staff, Wed Sep. 23 2009: A British Columbia court has thrown out polygamy charges against two controversial religious leaders in the province. Winston Blackmore and James Oler were arrested and charged with one count of polygamy earlier this year. [Keep reading this article here.]
By Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service
OTTAWA – The Harper government is prepared to defend the constitutionality of Canada’s criminal ban against polygamy, arguing the practice represents a “clear challenge” to Canadian values, newly released federal documents show. In January, the RCMP charged Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler, two prominent members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect in Bountiful, B.C., with practising polygamy. Since then, Mr. Blackmore’s lawyer has vowed to cite his client’s religious freedom as a defence, leading some legal and constitutional experts to speculate the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court. [Continue reading this story here.]
ARPA Note: Our director was able to take in the presentation by Charles McVety and Farzana Hassan (see picture on right) while in Ottawa last week for the ARPA event. The speakers did a good job of highlighting the dangers associated with the legalization of polygamy, but also made the point that the current legal perspective on marriage has opened up the doors to this.
By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
CRESTON, British Columbia, January 22, 2009 (LifeSIteNews.com) – Canada’s same-sex “marriage” law is being used as justification for polygamy by defense lawyers in the case of Winston Blackmore, 52, and James Oler, 44. The pair are leaders of the controversial polygamous sect in Bountiful, near Creston, British Columbia, and are accused of being married to more than one woman at a time.