Federal Immigration Guide - Polygamy

OTTAWA - Canada is hoping to crack down on polygamous relationships such as the one that's come to light during the sensational Shafia honour killing trial, according to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney who will unveil a revised guide for newcomers early next year that will addresses the issue specifically.

In a year-end interview with Postmedia News, Kenney said while polygamy is a concern he raised early on in his mandate, it's one that's been difficult to tackle.

``We leave no stone unturned to try to prevent what you might call polygamous immigration marriages, but the problem is that if someone comes to the country on a particular visa and then chooses to enter into say a religious marriage, it's never reported with the state in Canada and they never report it to us as an immigration sponsorship,'' he said.

``It's outside of our system.''

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A Personal Story ......

When my family lived in Richmond, a group of Mormon fundamentalists from Bountiful, near Creston, visited our mainstream Mormon congregation extolling the practice of polygamy, also called the principle or plural marriage. They were looking for wives to add to their collections. They targeted families who had young girls.

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RCMP on the Move

RCMP officers will be in Texas from Dec. 12 to 16 to gather information about underage Canadian girls believed to have been victimized by Warren Jeffs, the convicted pedophile and leader of a fundamentalist Mormon group.

Sgt. Terry Jacklin of the Southeast District Major Crime Unit said the officers will meet with state lawyers and members of the Texas Rangers to discuss the connection between Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), and girls allegedly sent to him by their families in Bountiful, a polygamous community in B.C.

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Polygamy Reference - the Judge's Reasons

Almost exactly one year ago, Judge Robert Bauman began hearing evidence in the case to decide if the federal law against polygamy was constitutional or not.

You can read his decision at the link below:

http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/11/15/2011BCSC1588.htm

Decision Day

Judge Robert Bauman, Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court, will hand down his reasons in the polygamy reference case on 23 November 2011. 

FLDS Bishop Convicted

A former bishop has been convicted of performing an illegal wedding ceremony between his 12-year-old daughter and polygamist cult leader Warren Jeffs.

Jurors deliberated for about an hour and 20 minutes before finding Fredrick Merril Jessop guilty with a felony count of performing the illegal wedding between Jeffs and the underage girl in 2006.

The ceremony took place at the Yearning For Zion Ranch near Eldorado, owned by the Jeffs-led Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).

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New Tale of Woe Caused by Polygamous Marriage

More and more FLDS members are "coming out" and telling the world of the pain they endured under the leadership of Warren Jeffs.  

Kerry Mcqueeney of the U.K.'s Daily Mail wrote on 22nd September about Elissa Wall:

A woman who was forced into marriage at the age of 14 while under the control of paedophile Mormon polygamist Warren Jeffs's cult has recounted her harrowing ordeal.

The woman, Elissa Wall, revealed how her own mother resorted to holding her daughter's hand at the altar in a bid to calm her down as she was forced to marry her 19-year-old cousin, whom she despised.

In a CNN interview, which is to be aired tonight, Elissa describes how she cried so much during the ceremony that her wedding dress was soaked with her own tears.

She told broadcaster Anderson Cooper: 'It was so devastating that even in the ceremony itself I'm crying to such a level that my wedding dress is soaked.

'They had my mother stand next to me and hold my hand just to get me to take my vows.'

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