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Canadian study recommends legalizing polygamy
Friday, January 13, 2006
Nishat Hasan

[JURIST] A study commissioned by the Canadian Justice Department and obtained by Canadian Press has urged the Canadian federal government to legalize polygamy to help protect women and children in those relationships. Section 293 of the Canadian Criminal Code currently bans polygamy, although a few Canadian provinces give limited recognition to foreign polygamous marriages for spousal support. The study, authored by three law professors at Ontario's Queen's University Faculty of Law, was prompted in part by concerns by British Columbia authorities about whether they should charge members of the Bountiful religious community in Creston, BC, which practices polygamy openly. The Canadian parliament legalized same-sex marriage across Canada in 2005.

Canadian Press has more.