Canada May Legalize Polygamy

When charges against Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler were dropped, many of us thought the great polygamy challenge we hoped for in Canada, was done for the foreseeable future. Wrongo.

FoxNews - "Attorney General Mike de Jong said he believes polygamy is against the law and should remain so, but he said the justice system needs clarity about whether Canada's law barring multiple marriages is constitutional.

Two Canadian laws stand in contradiction: Polygamy is banned, and religious freedoms are firmly protected.

The move comes a month after a judge quashed polygamy charges against two leaders of a polygamous community in western Canada. The judge ruled the province did not have the authority to appoint a special prosecutor to consider the cases of Winston Blackmore and James Oler after previous prosecutors recommended against charges.

The government has decided to seek the British Columbia Supreme Court opinion rather than appeal that court ruling. De Jong said the case may ultimately have to be decided by the Supreme Court of Canada."

Hip Hip Hooray for Mike de Jong then. The only benefit to pro polygyny advocates of polygyny persecutions is that one day prosecuters will maneuver themselves into a court challenge that strikes down anti polygamy laws.

Thanks Mike. Bravo. Let's have our day in court.

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Canadian officials may appeal dismissal of Blackmore/Oler Charges

Just make it legal. Get on board for legalization if you practice or affirm polygyny is acceptable.

More at Vermont Polygamy.

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Apparently, there will be no Polygamy Test Case in Canada

The charges against Blackmore and Oler? Dropped. Child abuse? Not even mentioned.

The Canadian Press/CTV - "A British Columbia court decision has quashed polygamy charges against two controversial B.C. religious leaders.

Winston Blackmore and James Oler were arrested earlier this year in Bountiful, B.C., and charged with one count each of polygamy.

The men had petitioned the court to stay the charges, arguing that the B.C. attorney general had gone 'special prosecutor shopping' until he found someone who would go ahead with charges.

In a decision released Wednesday, B.C. Supreme Court Judge Sunni Stromberg-Stein agreed.

The judge said the province's attorney general did not have the jurisdiction to appoint a second special prosecutor to consider charges against Blackmore and Oler after the first special prosecutor recommended against charging the two men.

She found that the appointment of the second special prosecutor -- and therefore the decision to charge the men was 'unlawful.'

The attorney general had no jurisdiction to appoint a second special prosecutor, the judge concluded."

Will the charges be brought back?

"(Blackmore and Oler's attorney) said he's not sure whether the charges could be resurrected.

'I believe this will be the end of the criminal case but what the judge has actually done is to quash the appointment of the special prosecutor,' (Bruce Elwood) said.

The B.C. Criminal Justice Branch will have to decide what they will do now, he said."

So, they went venue shopping to "get" someone. How strange. It is probably not an accident that the Canada avoided a "Charter Rights" issue at the same time.

Renn Oldbuster is all over it.

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Justice may be blind, but can it be wooed?

Hat tip to "VESTA Status of Womens News" for noticing this one. I wouldn't say it's a blog populated by fellow travelers, but it's about the funniest thing the opposition has come up with. There is also a reprinted and well reasoned piece immediately below this cartoon, Joey Thompson writes;

"(I)n an interview Friday, (Wally Oppal) was unrepentant -- quick to rebut those, including his own staff in the Criminal Justice Branch, who figure he should directly ask the province's top appeal judges for their legal take on whether all of us can wed willy-nilly, given every citizen's right to freely pursue their religious beliefs.

Oppal told me the case against the constitutionality of polygamy stands a much better chance if B.C. can prove the extramarital lifestyle sexually exploits and harms women and kids. But first they need evidence that it does exploit -- thus, the police investigation and subsequent criminal prosecution of the self-appointed bishops."

Joey writes for "the Province" and her article was originally printed there. To balance that, there is this from Grant Maxwell.

The Daily News (Nanaimo) - "Previously, there were two significant societal changes that I believed were instituted solely because of idealism.

The first was the implementation of the metric system by Trudeau. There simply wasn't a need or desire for that change.

The second was the fast ferries. Again there wasn't much desire or demand for faster ferries but an elected official knew better than the rest of us.

I suggest the same is true of the polygamy charges laid by Wally Oppal. He had to shop this idea to three people before he found someone who agreed. Since there are no sexual exploitation charges, there is no interest. I would suggest that if the province were to ban plastic bags the talk shows and editorial pages would be burning up compared to this yawn fest. Oppal may be fighting the good fight but for whom?

He has stuck his neck out a long way here and many believe he will lose. The risk/reward ratio on this is far too high."

I tend to agree with Grant, that the fight is not being fought for anybody, unless you count busibodies that stare in bedroom windows and become even more excited (YFZ) when they cannot. If Oppal tries to really win the case, it will probably be along the lines of abuse, which they will now have to find, and they will need witnesses, who claim to be victims.

The cartoon may have to be rewritten, with Wally Oppal down on his knees, Romancing the Stone carving of Blind Justice.

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Brent Hunsaker, ABC 4, Nails it.

It's a test case.

KTVX - "After years of investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Crown's prosecuting attorneys in British Columbia charged the leaders of two polygamist groups (one is F.L.D.S., the other a splinter group) with one count each of polygamy.

Just one count each. A test case.

Backed by a strong anti-polygamy law, section 293 of the Canadian Criminal Code, B.C. District Attorney Wally Oppal argues he doesn't have to look for crime within polygamy, polygamy itself is the crime. His case may well hinge on proving that polygamy by definition is abuse. Whether the man is kind or mean, principled or ruthless, polygamy is inherently abusive of women and children.

That is very different from the approach of Shurtleff and Goddard. The question is, which is the better?

If Oppal succeeds, it could open the door to hundreds of prosecutions in Canada. Even the mere threat of such prosecutions could lead to a mass exodus of polygamists from Bountiful -- that's what they call their community in the Creston Valley of British Columbia.

And where do you think all those Canadian polygamists would end up? Yep. Here. In polygamist enclaves in South Dakota, Nevada, Texas, Arizona and Utah.

We should pay close attention to what happens in a Canadian courtroom. It may well have irrevocable consequences for those of us in the States."

And yes, he also notes correctly it will have effects here. Either by sending Canadian polygamists our way, or by emboldening our Law Enforcement, or by pressuring us to legalize it because of our close ties. Canada in a way should be applauded. Now we'll know.

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Daphne Bramham's analysis provides no simple answer?

I've found the Article, "ANALYSIS: POLYGAMY - Why don't the Bountiful, B.C., charges include sexual exploitation? The answer is simple" - Daphne Bramham in two papers, neither of which was the "Vancouver Sun," for whom she writes. Seriously, I'm not kidding you. I didn't see one thing to make the answer be simple, I read the article twice and started to get a headache looking for it.

Maybe I'm just dense, which on occasion, I am, but I didn't see it, so perhaps one of you readers could go to the article, and see if the answer is indeed simple. I think she's pleading that it would hurt the children by impoverishing their fathers. I'm not sure.

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Winston Blackmore, has a BLOG

Hat tip to FeVaFotos. "Share the Light," is Winston Blackmore's blog. Winston's Home Page is, "The North Star," on which is contained his statement.

At present both have a page rank of "no data." I imagine, that will change. Nothing like a good persecution to call attention to someone, and something, no one cared about.

"Since I am not going to take your questions upon advice of legal counsel, and since you all know that whether I have liked it or not I have always tried to accommodate the media, I will try to anticipate your questions in this statement.

Almost nineteen years ago we were discovered by the media. We didn’t even know that we were lost. It has taken three AG’s, many special prosecutors, and millions and millions of tax payers dollars, almost nineteen years to arrive at the conclusion that Fundamentalist Mormons want to practice the fundamentals of their faith.

Canada has a law against polygamy. It was made in or around 1892 and was made specifically against the Mormons. Canada also has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms that guarantees every person the right to live their religion, and I guess now, every person except those of us who are Fundamentalist believing and practicing Mormons.

This is not about the police. They kindly waited until my children would be all at school before they came to arrest me. They certainly did not expect that school would be delayed for two hours because a foot of heavy snow had fallen in the night and all my school children were still home. They also did not know that my three children that want to be police officers when they grow up, a 16 year old girl, a 12 year old boy, and an eleven year old boy got to witness the process. My children hated the police all day long and were still hating them when I got home. I have met dozens of police officers over the years and made many good friends among them. I was treated very kindly by the arresting officers but can honestly say to them, you have some pr work to do with some of my family members, and perhaps since Canada has chosen to disregard our basic charter rights then you should at least work in some sensitivity when it comes to dealing with our children.

This is not about Polygamy. Tens of thousands of polygamists among many different cultures are hiding in plain sight all across Canada. They are known by their neighbors, policemen, legislators and media just as we are. I am sure that they are an active valued part of the economic structure of the communities in which they live just as we are. But they are not fundamentalist Mormons! To us this is about religious persecution. Persecution has always been about politics. Whatever else is involved with it, it is still about politics. It is therefore no surprise to us that this spectacular grandstanding event has happened in the face of an up and coming provincial election. I hope this government has calculated all the risks. Time will tell.

My family reaction was negative and yesterday was a hard day for them. There was no way that we could talk. They listened to the news, collectively fielded hundreds of phone calls and waited. My little children couldn’t do their school work, and were emotional and traumatized by the uncertainty of the event. My college children couldn’t focus. I didn’t know about it all day but a number of my dear family members waited outside to see me when I was released. We had a wonderful reunion and as I stood there in Cranbrook with a dozen grown up sons and daughters, all struggling in their own way to understand this religious persecution, not to mention the inevitable question of why a government presiding over this economy, would target them as employers, students, workers, taxpayers, all the while wasting enormous amounts of their hard earned dollars waging a political religious campaign. One quipped, “wouldn’t it be nice if this government focused their political and financial energy on creating jobs”? I had this huge feeling of gratitude that these fine men and woman are what my life is really all about. My family will be just fine.

Where do we go from here? I have to make an appearance on January 21. You will all be welcome to stay home from that event. I plan on doing what I have always done. I will get up and get my children up for school. We will live each day as we have done for the last nineteen years. We will teach our children the best we can, help them get a good education, and I will try and encourage my children that want to be police officers to do so, because Canada needs good, fair, unbiased officers, from coast to coast that will honestly deal with the diverse multicultural society that it has become, without discriminating against those visible or invisible minorities, whether racial, religious or simply cultural. I want my children to respect the First Nations People of our great country, to stand in honor with them and recognize according to our Book of Mormon teachings that they were preserved by the hand of God upon this land. I want my children to grow up, get a good education, go to work and do a good job for the business that hires them, and a better job for the people that they employ. Naturally, I want them to cherish my faith, but if they do not, they are growing up knowing that their dad will always till the day he dies be there to joy in their joys, sorrow in their sorrows, and encourage them to do right along the way. I am what I am, we are what we are. We are descended from a long line of Mormon believing people. My family did not make up our faith nor did we establish the fundamental teachings of Mormonism. Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He has taught us, and I have taught my children that they should pray for their enemies as well as their friends. That is what we will continue to do.

I want to thank the hundreds, if not by now thousands who have called in their support. You guys are the best."

As always, I am not remotely LDS/FLDS/Mormon. I think their faiths are deceptions. Nevertheless, we all have a place in God's grand device, and more than that, we are all in his image. Justice is justice for us, and for all. For the stranger, and for the believer. I am grateful to Winston for getting this issue before the courts of Canada.

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Bountiful locals weigh in, Price is no object according to the politicians

It's a better article than would have been written by the Eldorado Success

.

The Cranbrook Daily Townsman - (Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett) - "I can't say enough about Wally Oppal's doggedness on this file. He's really been responsive any time I've talked to him about Bountiful. He wanted evidence, obviously, to lay a charge, but couldn't lay a charge until they had it. I think he deserves a lot of credit here."

Dogged? What has Oler or Blackmore been charged with that they couldn't have been charged with a few days after they set foot in Bountiful? The charges are proof they couldn't find anything on the FLDS contingent in Canada, so they charged them with the only thing they could charge them with.

"(Audrey) Vance said she doesn't care who gets the credit as long as Blackmore was charged with polygamy instead of sexual assault or some other charge that would leave the polygamy law unchallenged.

'We've been skirting around this issue for a long time. Polygamy is against the law of Canada. So for me, I'm glad he was charged with that. As Canadians, I think it's time we made up our minds on the polygamy issue.' "

Audrey first seems to take a rational position, that the case should be tested, but then downshifts into utter nonsense.

"A member of Altering Destiny Through Education, a Creston-based group, which has fought for years for the right of Bountiful children to attend the public school system, Vance said her main concern is the children of Bountiful.

'For those of us that have learned so much the last six years, it isn't about consenting adults. It's about taking any young female that the 'prophet' feels should be married to an old man. So to me it's about children's rights in this country. That's the way I've always felt about it.' "

"Fought for the 'right' of Bountiful children to attend the public school system?" I'm glad she tells us it's how she feels about it. Who cares how she feels about it? Has it dawned on her than no one has been charged with abuse after all that investigation? Audrey would seem to be an idealist that thinks that the day will be won when the naturally abusive condition of polygyny is finally shown to be illegal. Good luck with that Audrey, I think monogamy as marriage, the only form of marriage, is going down in Canada.

"Bennett, meanwhile, said the Province is going to great lengths in the Bountiful prosecution to separate it from any possible taint of politics by putting independent prosecutor Terrence Robertson in charge of the case."

And they punt, to an "independent prosecutor" whose job it will be to expand the charges to anything and everything. At least Canada is leading with the correct charge as polygamy is in fact illegal. In this case if child abuse is found, as defined by law, they'll have reason to conduct the search and find the evidence. I would disagree with how they define child abuse, but Canada does have the right to make it's laws.

"Bennett agreed the case could be long and expensive, but said that's not the issue. The polygamy law must be tested, he said. 'This, I believe, is in the public interest. I agree with the special prosecutor and the attorney general on that.' "

Saddle up Cranbrook, politicians don't care how much of your money they spend, refer to Texas to see how much can be spent.

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"Can anyone presume to tell where religious instruction ends and brainwashing begins?"

Hat tip to blogger "Sandy" at Introspection of a Plural Wife (at Heart). Iain Hunter writes the column that says it all

.

The Victoria Times-Colonist - "I've seen high Anglicans genuflecting, Quakers quaking and holy rollers rolling in their places of worship, and it has occurred to me that something has happened to their brains. But when they emerge, shriven or whatever, they seem perfectly normal again.

It's the same with people of other faiths I've seen on TV, lacerating their bodies, beheading live chickens and crawling with their faces in the mud. I presume they have families to look after and jobs to go to.

What the Bountiful women have done, though, is more permanent. They've hitched themselves, like sled dogs, to one man so that he can 'raise up seed' and qualify to get to the celestial kingdom.

If they, and their man, really believe this is their religious duty, what right has any non-believer to stop them from performing it? And how can anyone presume to tell where religious instruction ends and brainwashing begins?"

Also he points out this circular logic, unseen by its users;

"A lot of people seem to assume that these young, healthy women in a polygamous relationship have been brainwashed by those with religious authority over them. They believe no self-respecting sister would subject herself to this kind of arrangement of her own free will. Ergo, this must be stopped."

All Polygamy is backward and abusive and it is self evidently so. Therefore, any woman in one, has to be brainwashed, and must be rescued and deprogrammed. But at Short Creek years ago, and in Texas today, there are no Patricia Hearsts, no victims of Stockholm syndrome that "snap out of it." The still believe, what they believed before when they were being abused at close quarters and being brainwashed after 9 months of "choice," or maybe they just believe it.

"Attorney General Wally Oppal's determination to lay criminal charges against Winston Blackmore, with 26 wives at last count, and James Oler, with two, is something that a lot of people would have applauded about 60 years ago when it was supposedly first considered by the government of the day.

The opinion of most legal experts seems to be, though, that it's too late. The Charter of Rights' guarantee of religious freedom, they say, overrides the Criminal Code's section outlawing polygamy, the section the Crown has chosen to use to prosecute the two men."

Read it all.

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Willie Rousted Again

(Photo by Leah Hogsten/ The Salt Lake Tribune)

Either he's becoming genuinely amused or a little cranky

about it. His myth precedes him I guess. He does have that Darth Willie thing goin' on with all that black.

The Salt Lake Tribune - "(Willie) Jessop and two companions were stopped at noon and allowed to enter the country at about 4:15 p.m. MDT. During the wait, Canada Border Service Agency officials searched their laptops and a camera. They earlier had searched the men's Lincoln Navigator and their personal bags, Jessop said."

This happened down in Texas as well, he was pulled over going to the courthouse. It's called a shakedown.

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UPDATED: Oh Please, this is TOO OBVIOUS, Bountiful Raid another "Assist" to a Book.

It was "weird" and "tinfoil hat wearing" to suggest that the YFZ raid was in large part, a money grubbing attempt

by anti FLDS forces to line their pockets. I mean, look at all the neatly timed book deals, including Flora Jessop's book timed to come out (ahem) now, just as the Bountiful Raid kicks off, and this, noted by the Vancouver Sun.

"Daphne Bramham's book, The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in Canada's Polygamous Mormon Sect, was published by Random House and is shortlisted for the B.C. National Non-Fiction Book Award. It was released in paperback by Vintage Canada this week."

Ok FLDS. Get some contacts in the publishing world. Try to be "elsewhere" when a book is about to hit the paperback shelves or a new publishing effort is kicking off. I suggest you take cruises. Be in the middle of the South Pacific. Try a visit to Madagascar. Put the Gaza Strip on your sight-seeing agenda. Go some place safe, the next time an enemy decides to publish a book.

Why is this not a psychotic delusion of the pajama wearing crazy FLDS supporting Blog Universe? Because in researching the Bountiful arrests, I discovered that it is so obvious, I wasn't the first to see it. I can claim it was an original thought, but not that I was the first to notice.

UPDATE:

The Straight (Vancouver) - "My suspicions were aroused after the B.C. Achievement Foundation selected Vancouver Sun reporter Daphne Bramham's book, The Secret Lives of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in Canada's Polygamous Mormon Sect (Random House), as one of four finalists for a $40,000 prize for the best nonfiction book of the year in Canada."

He goes on to observe that the Author, is a reporter, for the Vancouver Sun.

"A report a few years ago proved there was no politics in the charge-approval process, the bureaucrat could insist. The RCMP conduct investigations, which is separate from the work that the Crown does. Anyone who doesn't know this doesn't understand how the justice system works. Blah blah blah.

And this could be the kicker: any journalist who suggests otherwise is just another a conspiracy theorist.

But there's one thing the Crown can't deny: the timing of these charges couldn't have been better for the B.C. Liberals' reelection chances or for the premier awarding a nonfiction book prize to a Vancouver Sun reporter"

Bwahahahahahahaha....

Media Wars, I can see it now, warring tribes of journalists, straight out of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I would not link to any Daphne Bramham stories at this point, for factual information, there's a huge conflict of interest.

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Since the FLDS don't issue FATWAS, it's open season here, and in Canada. It's not a coordinated attack, it's not about (a particular) religion.

This could become very interesting, as the war against the FLDS goes international. Muslims engage in polygyny here, and in Canada, but if you are FLDS and are polygynous, you're a target. (A quick Bountiful Timeline primer from The Vancouver Sun.)

The Globe and Mail - "In a sensational turn in a 20-year-old debate over the issue of polygamy in Canada, police have charged Jim Oler and Winston Blackmore.

The two men were charged each with one count on Tuesday and have not yet appeared in court. Mr. Oler is charged with 'practising polygamy' on Nov. 4, 2004 with two women. Mr. Blackmore is charged with 'practising polygamy' on May 1, 2005, with 22 women."

One is always tempted to make the joke, "how do you practice polygamy?"

"Polygamy is an indictable offence in the Criminal Code."

That may be, but Canada has already legalized (in a sense) Polygamy for the purposes of using divorce laws, to break them up. The Ottawa Sun, May 31st, 2006;

"Multiple-wife marriages have been legally recognized in Canada to award spousal support and inheritance payments.

The former Liberal government long maintained that polygamy is criminal in Canada but documents obtained by Sun Media under Access to Information show that polygamous marriages have been recognized 'for limited purposes' to enforce the financial obligations of husbands.

Religious organizations say same-sex marriage opened the door to decriminalizing polygamy, and worry that formal recognitions of plural marriages will weaken the government's ability to defend the anti-polygamy law if it faces a constitutional challenge on religious grounds. A polygamist from Bountiful, British Columbia has warned he will fight for his constitutional right to have plural wives on religious grounds."

Probably the same "polygamist" arrested today. Canada is not the USA of course, and their judicial system is vastly different. This is blatant hypocrisy. It is of course, not about religion. Well, maybe, but only particular religions, the ones that don't issue fatwas.

Also reporting on the story Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, The Salt Lake Tribune, The Deseret News, ABC News and Google News/The Canadian press.

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