Canadian polygamist sues over `unlawful’ prosecution

TORONTO (RNS/ENI) A Canadian man who admits to having multiple wives is suing the government of British Columbia for “unlawful” prosecution after it charged him with practicing polygamy. The polygamy charge was thrown out last September after a judge ruled that the provincial attorney general had no jurisdiction to appoint a special prosecutor in the […]

TORONTO (RNS/ENI) A Canadian man who admits to having multiple wives is suing the government of British Columbia for “unlawful” prosecution after it charged him with practicing polygamy.

The polygamy charge was thrown out last September after a judge ruled that the provincial attorney general had no jurisdiction to appoint a special prosecutor in the case.

In his statement of claim, filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court, Winston Blackmore said, “The (attorney general) acted in a manner that was high handed, arbitrary, reckless, abusive, improper and inconsistent with the honor of the Crown and the administration of justice.”


Blackmore and James Oler, from Bountiful, British Columbia, were both charged with polygamy in January 2009. They have argued that Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms permits them to have several wives.

The two men are leaders of separate factions of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an offshoot of the mainstream Mormon church, which formally renounced polygamy in 1890.

Two previous special prosecutors had advised against the polygamy charges because of concern that they would not survive a constitutional challenge.

The latest lawsuit asks for legal costs and unspecified damages. It asserts that “Blackmore suffered business and other financial losses and he and his family were put under extreme stress and anxiety.”

Blackmore is believed to have as many as 25 wives and more than 100 children.

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