Hearing offers a peak inside polygamous community
VANCOUVER, BC–A court hearing on the constitutionality of Canada's anti-polygamy law is giving Canadians a rare glimpse inside the “almost cloistered" communities that practice this lifestyle, says Dave Quist, executive director of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada.
“The curtain's been pulled back just a little bit to see what that polygamous relationship looks like," says Quist. “And I think we should listen very carefully to what's being said [at the hearing] and being aware of the fallout."
The province opted for the hearing after its prosecution of Winston Blackmore and James Oler, leaders of the Bountiful polygamous community in southeastern B.C., was thrown out on technical legal grounds. Each was charged with one count of practising polygamy.
The accused claim the law banning polygamy violates their freedom of religion. As Fundamentalist Mormons, they view multiple marriages as a central tenet of their faith.
According to the RCMP, Blackmore, as of mid-2009, had 25 wives who had borne him 101 children. Four wives were said to be only 15 years old when he married them.
Expert witnesses testifying before B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman have offered conflicting evidence as to whether polygamy is harmful to society or is simply another family formation no better or worse than monogamous marriage.
Quist says while most of the concern about polygamous relationships is properly focused on the abuse it allegedly causes women and children, the hearing has shed some new light on why these communities often seem to turn against their younger men.
“Older men that have wives–wives plural–don't really want these young men around, because they would obviously like to have wives as well," he says, “When there's only so many women available, having other potential male suitors around creates competition."
The hearing was adjourned over Christmas. It was scheduled to resume on January 5 and could continue until the end of the month. Still to be heard are legal arguments over whether the law does in fact breach the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Quist, who works in Ottawa, says Members of Parliament he has spoken are definitely aware of this hearing and its social implications.
“I get the impression," he says, “that if the decision is in favour of polygamy, they will be pushing within their own parties very quickly to encourage the Minister of Justice to appeal it."
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