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...
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 ServiceOTTAWA - 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...