B.C. polygamists claim persecution

Polygamists in Bountiful, B.C., say they're being persecuted by the RCMP and federal immigration officials.

One of the community leaders says he expects he'll soon be facing criminal charges, and three of his wives who are American citizens have been ordered out of the country.

The family members took the unusual step of inviting reporters into their 1,000-member community in southeastern British Columbia on Tuesday to talk about their concerns.

'Every single person knows, including the RCMP, that [charges] would be a waste of time.' -Winston Blackmore

"It's a persecution as far as we're concerned," said Winston Blackmore, who answered reporters' question along with five of his wives outside their home in Bountiful.

Blackmore, 49, has more than 20 wives and at least 103 children.

One wife, Leah Barlow, said the RCMP came to the community a few weeks ago.

"They showed up on our doorstep and said, 'We need to talk to you.'

"We had the idea that we had nothing to hide and nobody told us we didn't have to talk to them … We didn't know this was all about gathering evidence against the person we love most. We are very angry and felt violated."

Police seized birth records and other documents, the Blackmore family claims.

The British Columbia attorney general's office has confirmed a police investigation is proceeding and says it should wrap up within weeks.

Charges would be fought on Charter grounds

Bountiful was established in the late 1940s by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – a breakaway sect of the Mormon Church. The official Mormon Church banned polygamy in 1890.

Blackmore said he expects to be charged with polygamy or abuse of authority. He said he can't understand why anyone would want to lay charges against him, given that many lawyers believe polygamy charges wouldn't stand up to a Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge based on freedom of religion.

"A million and a half dollars, [a] five-year run to the Supreme Court of Canada – all when every single person knows, including the RCMP, that it would be a waste of time," Blackmore said.

But anti-polygamy activists say Canada's best-known polygamist has openly broken the law and should be charged.

That opinion is not shared by Ruth Lane, another of Blackmore's wives.

"Because of the pressure the activist groups have placed on the attorney general's office and the RCMP, we're now faced with the very real possibility that our children's father, and our partner, will be arrested," she said.

Three wives told they must leave Canada

That isn't the family's only concern. Three of Blackmore's American wives were recentlydenied permission to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Edith Barlow, Martha Chatwin and Zelpha Chatwin have been ordered to leave the country, although they are married to a Canadian citizen and have 16 children among them, all of whom were born in Canada.

The family has been told the children can stay in Canada along with their father and his other wives.