B.C. needs legal opinion before polygamy court challenge: lawyer

The B.C. government has been told it should ask the province's highest court for a legal opinion on polygamy instead of proceeding first with charges against members of a polygamist cult in the community of Bountiful.

Vancouver lawyer Leonard Doust said Monday the court should be asked whether Canada's laws against polygamy are constitutionally valid, and whether they could withstand a court challenge on the grounds that multiple marriages fall under the right of religious freedom.

The opinion from Doust — who was appointed by Attorney General Wally Oppal to review the matter — is the latest in a string of legal opinions on the Bountiful case.

The community is part of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect that broke away from the Mormons after the latter disavowed polygamy more than a century ago.

Doust said charging and trying people in Bountiful would take longer and be less conclusive than referring the matter directly to the B.C. Court of Appeal.

Oppal said it's no secret he favours a more aggressive approach to the issue, but he must consider the opinions given by two highly respected lawyers — Doust and a special prosecutor who gave the same advice earlier.

He said the government will have to decide its next step, but it will do something.

Opposition justice critic Leonard Krog said the time for studying the issue is over and the government should lay charges, saying a prosecution would send a message that it's unacceptable to have children being married to old men.