It is no secret that there are child brides and teen mothers in the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C., and that many of them are illegal immigrants from the United States, writes Daphne Bramham

On Monday, the B.C. court case examining Canada’s law against polygamy will hear from women involved in polygamy who want the law tossed out.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge examining the constitutionality of Canada’s anti-polygamy law has spent nearly two months hearing about the alleged harms of polygamy.

The isolated polygamous commune of Bountiful, B.C., is a “cult” where religion is used to control residents and take away their rights, says the brother of one the community’s leaders.

The daughter of the man whose property became the home of Canada’s Bountiful polygamous community testified Monday that her father eventually renounced the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, which had taken control of the community.

Water torture of babies is one way some members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day instil fear of authority, a former member testified Wednesday.

Fundamentalist Mormons have already won the right to testify anonymously and behind screens in the reference case to determine whether the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom includes the practice of polygamy.

On Friday, they asked the B.C. Supreme Court for much more.

Girls in the polygamous community of Bountiful “were to be treated like poison snakes” and taught that their role was to “have lots of children and obey the men,” says an affidavit filed in the B.C. Supreme Court in connection to a landmark polygamy case.

“The boys were taught not to interact with the girls and that the girls were to be treated like ‘poison snakes,’ ” says the affidavit, filed earlier this month by Truman Oler, 28, who grew up in Bountiful and left the community when he was about 21.

Increased crime, prostitution and anti-social behaviour. Greater inequality between men and women. Less parental investment in children. And, a general driving down of the age of marriage for all women.

These are some of the harms of polygamy tht are outlined in a 45-page research paper by noted Canadian scholar Joseph Henrich, filed Friday in B.C. Supreme Court.

They were taught to trust no outsider. That, in fact, given the chance, non-believers would seek them out and murder them in their own beds.

Two half sisters who, despite systematic brainwashing, no longer follow such rigid doctrine spoke on Wednesday about their experiences living in a polygamist sect.

Winston Blackmore, the leader of a polygamous community in southeastern British Columbia who has admitted to having multiple wives, is suing the provincial government for violating his rights when he was charged last year.

The charges were thrown out last fall after the men’s lawyers successfully argued in court that the decision of a previous special prosecutor not to lay charges was final.

Canada will not appeal a court ruling tossing out criminal charges against two men in polygamous religious sects, authorities in British Columbia said Thursday.

Provincial Attorney General Michael de Jong said that westernmost British Columbia will instead ask its provincial Supreme Court whether Canada’s law against polygamy is constitutional.

Criminal polygamy charges against B.C., Canada religious leaders Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler were thrown out last Thursday — which, Canada’s National Post writes, means they can continue to practise what they preach: Accept multiple wives, including teenage girls.

But McGill University law professor Angela Campbell isn’t too worried. While she does not endorse polygamy, her research into the religious groups suggests Bountiful is neither a community of horrors nor a utopia.

Criminal polygamy charges against B.C. religious leaders Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler have been thrown out.

Former attorney-general Wally Oppal did not have authority to appoint a second special prosecutor to the decades-long case after the first one declined to proceed, Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein ruled.

Winston Blackmore says charges of polygamy against him have not undermined his authority to offer advice on moral issues.

The Globe and Mail earlier this week reported that Mr. Blackmore was offering online advice to women in abusive relationships.

Nancy Mereska, who has campaigned against polygamy, was startled by Mr. Blackmore offering moral advice. All polygamous relationships are abusive, she said in an interview with The Globe and Mail

Winston Blackmore has yet to enter his plea to the criminal charge of practising polygamy, but he’s already on his third lawyer, has filed for legal aid and asked Utah’s attorney-general for help in having his bail conditions amended.

Blackmore’s new lawyer is Joe Arvay, a well-known human rights and constitutional lawyer, whose firm successfully argued before the Supreme Court of Canada that the Constitution protects gays and lesbians from discrimination.

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