Chronicle Journal - Stories -

Opinion Poll
With a transit strike looming in Thunder Bay, what‘s your take on possible job action:
	It would be disruptive
	I’ll get by with other means
	I don’t use transit
	I hope there’s no stoppage

More Links	tbayjobline	TbayWeddings	Play Games!	^New! eVents Calendar	Advertise with Us	Contact Us

Other Links	Movie Times	Airport	Bus Schedule	Road Conditions	Library	Weather	Facebook	Twitter

Former B.C. Liberal MLA to represent Blackmore on polygamy charges
By Dirk Meissner, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Monday, January 19, 2009

Email this article
Printer friendly page

VICTORIA, B.C. - Accused B.C. polygamist Winston Blackmore will cite Canada’s gay marriage laws as part of his defence against a charge that he has 20 wives, one of his lawyers said Monday.

Blackmore, 52, is scheduled to appear in court in Creston on Wednesday on a charge of practising a form of polygamy. James Oler, 44, a religious rival of Blackmore’s in the Creston-area community of Bountiful where both men live, also faces a charge of polygamy.

Blackmore said in an e-mail to The Canadian Press, Nelson lawyer Blair Suffredine will represent him in court on Wednesday. Suffredine is a former member of Premier Gordon Campbell’s Liberal government.

"It’s pretty hard to justify why gay marriage is OK and polygamy’s not," Suffredine said. "The truth is he claims this is part of his religion."

Suffredine, who lost the Nelson-Creston seat to the New Democrats in the 2005 B.C. election, said he is aware the current B.C. Liberal government made it clear that it wanted to mount a legal challenge against the polygamous community of Bountiful, but politics was not part of his decision to take the case.

"It’s really nothing personal as far as between me and the government," said Suffredine. "It’s a job as a lawyer. I think it’s a good case."

He said he recalled as a member of the legislature that many people in his riding, which included Bountiful, wanted the government to take some action against the community.

Bountiful has been the subject of several investigations involving allegations of polygamy, sexual abuse and trafficking of teenage brides across the Canada-U.S. border to sister communities in the U.S.

Blackmore and Oler are the leaders of two rival factions of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Bountiful, located in Creston, in the Kootenay region in southwestern B.C.

Blackmore is accused of having 20 wives and Oler of having two. They each face a maximum of five years in prison.

The men are leaders in a breakaway offshoot of the Mormon church. The group has communities in Bountiful, B.C., Arizona, Texas and Utah and they adhere to the practice of multiple marriage originated by Mormon founder Joseph Smith but renounced by the mainstream Mormon church more than a century ago as a condition of statehood in the U.S.

"I actually think the government may be responding to pressure," said Suffredine. "When I was MLA I was asked on a number of occasions by people in the constituency about this issue and we had a number of meetings and discussed it, and I think they continue to want to see somebody deal with it in a way that they’d like to see it happen."

Vancouver criminal lawyer Glen Orris, who recently was part of the defence team for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, will also be part of Blackmore’s legal team, said Suffredine. Orris could not be reached for comment.

Suffredine said he expected Wednesday’s court appearance to be brief, and he wasn’t certain if Blackmore would even attend the hearing.

Legal experts have said the polygamy charges against Blackmore and Oler will test the legal boundaries of religious freedom in Canada.

Religious freedom is a right granted under the Constitution, but that right does not mean anything goes, said University of Victoria law professor Benjamin Berger.

He said the core Constitutional argument in the Blackmore and Oler cases will be deciding whether or not the alleged crime of polygamy limits the religious freedom of the accused.

Blackmore earlier called his arrest religious persecution and said the government was engaging in political grandstanding in the months prior to the May B.C. election.

Suffredine said he does not agree with polygamy, but believes Blackmore’s case will be a strong test of Canadian law.

Top of Page

Games!
Canadian Crossword
PlayFour!
Word Roundup