Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
28 November 2011
Polygamy Ban Upheld by B.C. Court
It’s against the law in Canada to have more
than one spouse at the same time.
It’s called polygamy, and it’s a crime
A Compas poll carried out for Institute of Canadian Values finds the vast majority of Canadians disapprove of polygamy.
The November 2006 poll found that only one in 10 of those surveyed believes the practice of having multiple marriage partners should be legalized.
However, in some cultures having more than one wife or husband at the same time is accepted. From time to time, members of those cultures come to live in Canada. One such is Winston Blackmore.
Mormons and Multiple Spouses
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church, used to practice polygamy.
The Sixth President of the Mormon Church was Joseph F. Smith. He is pictured here (centre with beard) with his family in about 1900. He had six wives and fathered 43 children while adopting five others.
In 1890, the Mormon Church gave up its custom of allowing men to have multiple wives. However, there were those who didn’t agree with this and they broke away to form fundamentalist communes.
One of these was set up near Lister, British Columbia and is thought to have about 700 members.
Community of Bountiful
Winston Blackmore is head of the B.C. commune which is called Bountiful.
In 1994, Citizenship and Immigration Canada granted permission for three of Mr. Blackmore’s 20 wives to come to Canada as permanent residents. Officials said the women were allowed in on “compassionate and humanitarian” grounds.
New immigration regulations that came into effect in June 2002 make it easier for polygamists to sponsor all their partners.
Canada’s immigration rules now recognize common-
At the same time, the official immigration rule book does not recognize polygamous marriages as legal.
Human Rights Issue
Canada’s governments seemed curiously unwilling to put a stop to the polygamy in Bountiful.
One reason was that if pushed, Mr. Blackmore might challenge the legality of government action based on the freedom of religion guarantee in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If the courts sided with the polygamists, the ban on multiple spouses would be struck down. That would cause a pickle no politician would want to be involved with.
On the other hand, the federal Justice Department studied the issue. Its conclusion was that by not enforcing the laws against polygamy, Canada may have been violating international law and United Nations conventions on the rights of women and children.
The Canadian public seemed less timid than the authorities. That poll mentioned earlier found strong support for governments to intervene more aggressively to protect children in polygamous communities such as Bountiful, B.C.
Charges Laid against Winston Blackmore
In November 2006,the Vancouver Sun reported that, “For nearly two years, the RCMP
has been investigating allegations that fundamentalist Mormon leaders, including
49-
The charge of committing polygamy didn’t come until January 2009. But, as Susan Martinuk wrote in the Calgary Herald (November 2011) “the charges were thrown out on a technicality and, since then, numerous RCMP investigations into allegations of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, rape and discrimination against women, have failed to result in charges that stick.”
However, the B.C. government then referred the issue to the province’s Supreme Court. In late November 2011, Chief Justice Robert Bauman ruled that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees freedom of religion and assembly, does not protect the right for people to practice polygamy under the pretext that it is a religious observance.
The ruling means that the law banning polygamy in Canada is constitutional. However, another part of the ruling, on a technicality, means that the issue will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada for a final determination.
A clearly angry Martinuk wrote that, “Blackmore and his ilk can continue to abuse and indoctrinate women and children for a while longer. But time is clearly running out.”
Sources
“Canada’s Polygamy Laws Upheld by B.C. Supreme Court.” CBC News, November 23, 2011.
“Polygamist Group’s Leader Expects to be Charged soon.” Vancouver Sun, May 12, 2006.
“Martinuk: Polygamy Costs Society in many Ways.” Susan Martinuk, Calgary Herald, November 25, 2011.
© Canada and the World, November 2011
All rights reserved
Warren Jeffs (pictured) has been taken off the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. That’s
because
the U.S. federal police caught up with Mr. Jeffs in August 2006.
In August 2011 he was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting two of
his under-
A rival leader, with Winston Blackmore, of a fundamentalist Mormon sect, Mr. Jeffs
was wanted for allegedly arranging under-
Among the beliefs
of this group are:
- Men must have at least three wives and as many children as possible in order to enter the highest level of heaven, and to have the opportunity to evolve into a God;
- A woman’s role is to serve a man and be submissive to his needs;
- Women who disobey men will have their souls burn in Hell for eternity.
- Children are usually required to leave school at the age of 13 or 14.
“I have concluded that this case is essentially about harm. This includes harm to women, to children, to society and to the institution of monogamous marriage.”
B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman
November 2011
DEFINITIONS
Polygamy is a term used to describe a living arrangement in which one person has several marriage partners.
Polygyny is where a man has more than one wife.
Polyandry is a marriage in which a woman has more than one husband.
Monogamy involves a relationship between two people that excludes others: a man and woman, two men, or two women.