Winston Blackmore, the leader of a polygamous community in southeastern British Columbia who has admitted to having multiple wives, is suing the provincial government for violating his rights when he was charged last year.
On 23 September 2009 the charges against Winston Blackmore and James Oler were dropped and the British Columbia (B.C.) Supreme Court ruled that the second appointed prosecutor's decision not to proceed with a prosecution was final and binding. Therefore, for the past 17 years, polygamy has effectively been legal in British Columbia because the B.C. government has consistently refused to prosecute polygamists fearing that the law (Sec. 293 of the Criminal Code) may be unconstitutional.
The leader of a polygamous community in western Canada who has admitted having numerous wives and dozens of children was arrested Wednesday [7 Jan. 2009] and charged with practicing polygamy, according to court documents and local officials.
The polygamous communities of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) - a branch of Mormonism - have openly practiced forced and underage marriages, incest, and abuse for decades. Under the clause of 'religious freedoms', however, this practice has been permitted to continue in the Canadian province of British Columbia and lengthy court cases have been further delayed by repeated appointments of special investigators.
We have received the following call for action from friends in Canada who ask that we write letters to Dr. Martha Bailey protesting her recommendation that the Federal Government of Canada remove Section 293 from the Criminal Code of Canada, thus, decriminalizing polygamy in Canada.
The undersigned Canadian associations call for support in their struggle against the introduction of religious arbitration courts for family matters in Canada.
WLUML asks you URGENTLY to send letters of support to Canadian women’s organisations, in particular organisations of women whose families come from Muslim societies, in their struggle to resist the introduction of so-called ‘Shari’a Courts’ in the resolution of family matters in Canada.
