National

B.C. Gets Go-ahead To Pursue Polygamy Charge Against Bountiful Leader

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Jun, 2015 12:57 PM

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Supreme Court has thrown out a bid by a lawyer for Winston Blackmore to have a polygamy charge against him dismissed.

The leader of a fundamentalist Mormon sect in southeastern B.C. is accused of polygamy for having more than two dozen wives.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen has ruled that the province can proceed with a prosecution against the Bountiful, B.C., leader for historical acts of polygamy dating back more than four decades.

Blackmore's lawyer petitioned the court to dismiss the charge recommended against him in 2012 by arguing that the province appointed a series of special prosecutors until it found one who would recommend a polygamy charge.

Cullen has ruled that the mandate of the most recent special prosecutor was sufficiently different from those of his predecessors and allowed the charge to stand.

Blackmore's most recent marriage took place a full decade before a 2011 reference question concluded that Canada's laws forbidding polygamy did not violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Takata Airbag Recall Affects 1.2 Million Vehicles In Canada

Transport Canada says the recall affects models from Honda, BMW, Ford and Chrysler from the years 2001 to 2014.

Takata Airbag Recall Affects 1.2 Million Vehicles In Canada

Christy Clark's Liberals Adjourn Legislature Dreaming About $36-Billion LNG Project

Clark singled out the progress on BC Hydro's $9-billion Site C hydroelectric dam and the proposed $36-billion, Petronas-backed liquefied natural gas plant as the government's top accomplishments in the spring session.

Christy Clark's Liberals Adjourn Legislature Dreaming About $36-Billion LNG Project

Union Leader Unsure Of Plan To Put RCMP In Charge Of Parliament Hill Security

OTTAWA — Will putting the Mounties in charge of security for all of Parliament Hill actually make it safer? The head of the union that represents the existing internal security team thinks not.

Union Leader Unsure Of Plan To Put RCMP In Charge Of Parliament Hill Security

As Parties Feud Over Canada Pension Plan, One Constant: We're Not Saving Enough

OTTAWA — Federal political parties may be quarrelling over how best to expand the Canada Pension Plan, but they seem to agree on one thing: Canadians should be saving more for retirement.

As Parties Feud Over Canada Pension Plan, One Constant: We're Not Saving Enough

Polls Show NDP In Three-way Tie But Pollsters Warn Voters Not Yet Engaged

For newshounds watching the CBC's national newscast on May 13, 1987, anchor Knowlton Nash's declaration raised the prospect of a seismic shift in federal politics.

Polls Show NDP In Three-way Tie But Pollsters Warn Voters Not Yet Engaged

Fewer Manitoba Foster Kids In Hotels, But Might Still Have To Be Used: Minister

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government says fewer foster children are being put up in hotels, but the accommodation may still have to be used occasionally.