Polygamy in Canada

muslim-wives-AFP

According to Canada’s criminal code, section 293, having multiple marriage partners is a criminal offence.

In 2017, Winston Blackmore, 60, and James Oler, 53, were convicted of practising plural or “celestial” marriage in the fundamentalist community of Bountiful, B.C., and rightfully so.

These men are from a religious community of about 1,500 people . Residents from a breakaway Mormon sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have practiced polygamy for over 70 years, even though it is against the law in Canada.

A lesser known issue with polygamy in Canada can be found within the Islamic community.

Under Sunni and Shia Islamic law, Muslim men are allowed to practice polygamy, that is, they can have more than one wife at the same time, up to a total of four. Polyandry, the practice of a woman having more than one husband, by contrast, is not permitted.

A majority of Canada’s Muslim population follows Sunni Islam, while a significant minority adhere to the Shia and Ahmadiyya branch of Islam.

Polygamy is preached in mosques by Imams in Canada, instructing Muslim men how to treat their multiple wives in a just and fair way according to sharia.

Following is a quote from the video below. “We need to remember, sharia is allowing it (multiple wives) with the condition that you be just, and you fulfill the rights of each of them (wives) and show kindness towards each of them. Otherwise, sharia will not allow it.”