![]() It seeks to protect against the many harms which are reasonably apprehended to arise out of the practice of polygamy. In my view, the salutary effects of the prohibition far outweigh the deleterious…The law seeks to advance the institution of monogamous marriage, a fundamental value in Western society from the earliest of times. In a 335-page decision issued in 2011, Justice Bauman determined that laws banning polygamy were constitutional and did not violate freedom of religion as guaranteed by the Charter. In a legal process known as a “reference”, the B.C government eventually requested clarification from the court as to whether Canada’s law against polygamy is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Previously, a lack of clear legal guidance on plural marriage (which is prohibited under the Criminal Code) led to several failed attempts at prosecuting Blackmore. Supreme Court over the constitutionality of Canada’s polygamy laws brought some clarity over the status of polygamy in Canada. “The Law Seeks to Advance the Institution of Monogamous Marriage”Ī previous decision by the B.C. In previous court proceedings, Blackmore had admitted (under oath) that three of his brides had been 16 and one had been 15 when they were married. The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, based in Utah, officially renounced polygamy in the late 19 th century, and disputes any connection to the fundamentalist sect’s form of Mormonism.īlackmore, aged 60, was married to his first wife Jane Blackmore, but then married 24 additional women in “celestial marriages”. Both men were former bishops in the tiny, isolated community of Bountiful, B.C., where the community were members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a breakaway sect of Mormonism which believes in plural marriage. Earlier this year, we blogged about a trial at the British Columbia Supreme Court which thrust polygamy into headlines across the country once again.Īt the centre of the trial was Winston Blackmore, Canada’s most infamous polygamist, and his former brother-in-law, James Oler.
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