VANCOUVER – Here are some quotes following Wednesday’s B.C. Supreme Court decision on Canada’s polygamy law:
“This case is essentially about harm. … This includes harm to women, to children, to society and to the institution of monogamous marriage.” — B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman.
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“I am who I am. We are who we are. And, you know in 1985 it was a criminal act to commit adultery in Canada and somehow or other somebody got that changed. But an adulterer, somebody who committed adultery before 1985, is just as big a criminal as I am.” — Winston Blackmore, a leader in the polygamous community of Bountiful who has said he has at least a dozen wives.
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“Much of the conduct clearly is harmful. The issue instead is the constitutionality of this section, and whether this section is the right way to go about it to deal with these harms, or whether instead other sections of the criminal code are the ones that are appropriate.” — George Macintosh, the lawyer appointed by the court to oppose the law at the hearings.
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“There has never been a hearing like this, this with this much evidence, so I think any subsequent court would disregard that at its peril.” — Crown lawyer Craig Jones, who argued on behalf of the B.C. government that the laws against polygamy should stand.
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“It’s clear the court has said that polygamy is a criminal activity. We have a group of people who have openly professed to do this on religious grounds. The court has said it’s not permitted on religious grounds, so I expect there to be open investigations.” — Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s representative for children and youth.
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“Polygamy has no place in modern society and the prohibition is consistent with Canadian values, the charter and the Canadian Bill of Rights. In our view, polygamy is harmful to society, to those involved with it, particularly to women and to children born within polygamous families. Again, we are very pleased with the decision today.” — federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.
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“These harms have been ongoing for many, many years and finally something has been done by the attorneys general to bring this matter to a head.” — Brian Samuels, Stop Polygamy in Canada.
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“The evidence around child brides was impossible to ignore. It’s a harm that is closely associated with polygamy, particularly in the context of a closed community where the women get younger and younger . . . and the age difference between husbands and wives grows larger. There’s much more possibility of exploitation.” — Kasari Govender, West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund.
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