Polygamy Reference Case in Canada

[aliensummer]

I thought some people might find this interesting. In British Columbia, there is currently a case being heard on whether or not laws against polygamy are constitutional. The findings of this court are expected to be appealed right up to the Supreme Court of Canada, and then depending on what they decide, Parliament. But, this means that Canada could end up being the first country in the developed world to have legalized polygamy.

Here are some links to news articles for anyone interested:

Some basic information:ipolitics.ca/2010/11/21/polygamy-reference-case-could-open-door-to-legalizing-multiple-marriages/

This is about the testimony from a woman in a polygamous marriage at Bountiful (an FLDS compound in British Columbia). I'm not a huge fan of that article because of the author's obvious bias, but it's still interesting: www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/928120--dimanno-what-s-it-like-being-a-polygamous-wife?bn=1

An article about another woman testifying: www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/wife-delights-in-closeness-of-her-polygamist-family-court-told/article1876633/

A break down on how the case has been going: www.vancouversun.com/news/Opinion+Constitutional+reference+case+will+down+wire/4084587/story.html

[withay]

Very interesting. I also find it interesting that Canada is addressing this. One of the arguments I have heard against same sex marriage, which Canada does have, is that it will open the door to "other types of marriage" including polygamy. Quite honestly, it confuses me. One one hand, I think that the government needs to keep its nose out of our personal business; on the other hand, polygamy is ripe for abuse of women and children. For myself, I'm very jealous and could not imagine sharing a man. But I can see advantages if you can get past the jealousy...

[aliensummer]

I didn't even think about the argument against same-sex marriage! I'm sure several people in Canada will be thinking about that when this case gets more attention in the media, and will probably be used as an argument for why polygamy shouldn't be legalized.

I understand the argument about how polygamy is ripe for abuses, but I wonder if legalizing it will make it easier to prevent those abuses from occurring and make it easier for victims to come forward. Due to the stigma attached to polygamy, even just having parents who are polygamists, not a lot of people are willing to come forward for help. However, if it's legalized, victims might feel more secure with coming forward because they won't have to worry about the stigma or for getting themselves in trouble for being in a plural marriage to begin with.

I guess I'm just wondering if polygamy, if legalized in a developed country like Canada, would look the same as polygamy that does in hiding and outside of the law. After all, legalizing polygamy wouldn't also be legalizing underage marriages (I'm not saying that that's what you're implying). Those abuses would still be illegal.

The other thing I wonder about, but that I don't think was mentioned or brought up in any of those articles, is the impact that legalized polygamy would have on refugees and immigrants to Canada from countries that allow it. I read an article a really long time ago about a man, two women, and their children who came to Canada as refugees from a country in Africa, but when they arrived here, he was no longer considered married to one of the women. This obviously caused a lot of issues, and I doubt they're the only family who has had this problem. The Toronto Star (one of the newspapers I posted) did a piece a while ago about how polygamy is an issue for some Muslims in Canada too, especially immigrants.

[withay]

That's a great point; that legalizing polygamy would bring it out of the shadows and encourage any victims to report abuse because they would no longer fear laws against polygamy. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Canada. I think I have told you that my brother lives on Vancouver Island in BC and we both have dual citizenships. IMO, Canada is more tolerant than the USA.