Canada: Christian Legal Fellowship to Show Law Against Polygamy/Polyamory Consistent with CharterFor Immediate Release from the CHRISTIAN LEGAL FELLOWSHIP March 31, 2011 UPDATE: CLF CLOSING STATEMENT FRIDAY AT 10AM CLF TO SHOW LAW AGAINST POLYGAMY/POLYAMORY CONSISTENT WITH CHARTER VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Christian Legal Fellowship will present its closing statement in the Constitutional Reference on Polygamy tomorrow before the Supreme Court of British Columbia at or around 10am pst in courtroom 55; interested individuals may view the closing statements via live webcast here. Delays up to thirty minutes may be expected depending upon submissions made prior to CLF’s presentation. CLF will follow four days of closing arguments presented by the Attorneys General of British Columbia and Canada, as well as counsel for the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children and Beyond Borders. Nine additional parties will present their closing arguments before the trial concludes on April 14. The Attorneys General have focused their arguments on showing that, where there is reasonable apprehension of harm, Parliament has a broad mandate to act and that the social science evidence consistently demonstrates harm to women and children exists in mainstream polygamy. The Attorney General of British Columbia also focused on the Bountiful polygamous community, which sparked the Reference. These arguments provide a solid framework for CLF’s closing statements. Gerald Chipeur, lead counsel for CLF in the case, comments that “the prohibition on polygamy in section 293 of the Criminal Code is necessary to protect children, women, and men. It is also necessary to sustain a free and democratic society.” He also states, “The Supreme Court of Canada has directly addressed the central question in this Reference and declared without reservation that Parliament acted consistent with Charter rights and freedoms when Parliament defined marriage as ‘the union of two persons’.” As an intervenor, CLF presented opening arguments to the Court on November 24 in support of the institution of marriage. CLF asked the Court to uphold Parliament’s authority to enact criminal laws that protect women and children from the practice of polygamy while carefully preserving religious freedom. During the trial, CLF presented evidence demonstrating the harms of polygamy, including the testimony of Dr. Shoshana Grossbard, an economist and expert on polygamy, as reported here. [broken link] After the closing statements finish, the Court will recess to examine the law in light of the evidence presented by the many witnesses who were examined throughout the Constitutional Reference on Polygamy. The Reference, brought by the Attorney General of British Columbia, asks the Court to determine if Parliament may prohibit polygamy and at the same time uphold the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee of religious freedom. Interested individuals may view the closing statements via live webcast here. To access CLF’s closing arguments and reply, click here or contact us below. [link broken] To access a number of additional documents associated with the Reference, click here. - 30 - For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Stephanie M. Luck, B.A., J.D., Esq. Legal Researcher/Director of Operations CHRISTIAN LEGAL FELLOWSHIP Alliance des chrétiens en droit Phone: (519) 641-8850 Fax: (519) 641-8866 www.christianlegalfellowship.org email: Stephanie.clf@primus.ca |