![]() ![]() The court's chief justice said the harm against women and children outweighs concerns over protecting religious freedom. Supreme Court upheld the polygamy laws in a 2011 reference case, ruling that a section of the Criminal Code banning plural marriages is constitutional. In 1991, the RCMP completed a 13-month investigation into Bountiful by recommending polygamy charges against Blackmore and another man, but B.C.'s attorney general decided not to lay charges because of uncertainty over religious freedoms under the Constitution. Suffredine had earlier asked the court to stay the charges against his client after the guilty verdicts, arguing the law against polygamy infringed on Blackmore's charter rights to religious freedom.ĭonegan dismissed the arguments in March, saying both Blackmore and Oler knew that entering into multiple marriages is illegal in Canada. They live in the small community of Bountiful in southeastern B.C. An amicus curiae, a so-called friend of the court, was appointed to ensure a fair trial.īoth men have been leaders in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which condones plural marriage. Oler has not been represented in court by a lawyer. After nearly 21 years, Merlin, 19, has opened up about how it feels to live in a huge polygamous cult. His father, 64-year-old Winston Blackmore has 27 wives and 150 children. The judge found Blackmore, 62, guilty last July of marrying two dozen women, while Oler, 54, was found to have married five women. The federal tax agency instead added hundreds of thousands of dollars a year of income and shareholder benefits associated with J.R. Updated: Jan 23, 2021, 03:50 PM IST Canada’s Merlin Blackmore belongs to the world’s largest polygamous family based in Bountiful, British Columbia. Winston Blackmore has been a leader in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which condones plural marriage. ![]()
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