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最高法院的一份最新研究表明，加拿大法律应当承认一夫多妻制。0 N! _: h$ a8 ?$ J+ V
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此项研究耗资15万加币，调查时间长达一年，最终发现禁止一夫多妻毫无益处。
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报告指出，加拿大的部分法律应该修正，以明确那些一夫多妻家庭中的妇女们合法的配偶地位，进而享有正当的财产继承权。) ^" \4 F- j& j0 P
7 d: m& K S) V, M4 x另一项来自女王大学的报告也指出，法律既然认可同性婚姻，也应当承认一夫多妻，否则不公平。
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调查负责人贝雷坚信，加拿大承认一夫多妻，对维护妇女权益意义重大。
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BC省的Bountiful地区对一夫多妻制实际上早已网开一面，这里生活着大量一夫多妻家庭。（译者按：摩门教？）" }; s: t! Y$ o5 o9 m& H2 u
6 [* K# J% x- H9 b是否予以取缔，BC法院至今犹豫不决。因为依法取缔一夫多妻的后果将是大量妇女儿童流落街头，贫穷饥饿疾病歧视种种问题会接踵而来。
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而且，某种意义上讲，这也干涉了宗教信仰自由，违背了宪法精神。法律自相矛盾，这也是开展此项调查的初衷。% c* o( Y; p# f& _( O" C+ H
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司法部官员强调，目前只是出台了一个文字报告，法律上还没有一夫多妻敞开大门。
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涌往加拿大的移民大军中，来自非洲和中东地区的人口比例正在不断上升。这些国家一夫多妻都是合法的。. W- C: V' i; p+ I0 i' @
5 F% f1 K1 o" n# L加拿大各省对一夫多妻态度不一，安省寄予了有限认可，而保守的阿省一直在强烈反对，并极力督促BC立即取缔一夫多妻，however difficult it may be。* O- \5 K. K/ _: G# I: D
0 t$ p% ]. h8 X0 `8 [2 k0 lCanada should legalize polygamy: study9 K9 j9 E8 H( P q3 x
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Updated Fri. Jan. 13 2006 6:45 AM ET2 g/ `$ ]3 Q ?$ o; Y2 {
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Canadian Press+ p# k4 R+ U- Q% l. G' F9 w
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OTTAWA — A new study for the federal Justice Department says Canada should get rid of its law banning polygamy, and change other legislation to help women and children living in such multiple-spouse relationships.
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' u, Y6 |5 h' ]"Criminalization does not address the harms associated with valid foreign polygamous marriages and plural unions, in particular the harms to women," says the report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. "The report therefore recommends that this provision be repealed." 6 F* Y8 F* a; a; N% O5 |/ j# a
2 h" y" f. }0 N$ u1 j! zThe research paper is part of a controversial $150,000 polygamy project, launched a year ago and paid for by the Justice Department and Status of Women Canada. + e6 V' K1 e5 K I, o8 p
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The paper by three law professors at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., argues that Sec. 293 of the Criminal Code banning polygamy serves no useful purpose and in any case is rarely prosecuted.
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Instead, Canadian laws should be changed to better accommodate the problems of women in polygamous marriages, providing them clearer spousal support and inheritance rights. * V6 ^8 C4 K6 t$ v4 D- t
# \: F- F( @% V$ z; M6 A4 n2 Y: W9 o" {Currently, there's a hodgepodge of legislation across the provinces, some of whom - Ontario, for example - give limited recognition to foreign polygamous marriages for the purposes of spousal support. Some jurisdictions provide no relief at all. 6 {8 g8 s7 Z# k. t9 w0 x" _( `
* c0 l* K. I7 ~: M9 C0 |Chief author Martha Bailey says criminalizing polygamy, typically a marriage involving one man and several wives, serves no good purpose and prosecutions could do damage to the women and children in such relationships.
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"Why criminalize the behaviour?" she said in an interview. "We don't criminalize adultery. $ D9 }( n3 I% A# b; Y8 Y
# K, J7 C" e4 P5 U6 [) v"In light of the fact that we have a fairly permissive society. Why are we singling out that particular form of behaviour for criminalization?"
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2 @* y8 V8 \( x! UInstead, there are other laws available to deal with problems often associated with polygamous unions, which are not legally recognized as marriages in Canada. 8 a4 s2 K2 X" g3 b% L
( N$ D/ }+ u$ }$ z4 B2 F' R"If there are problems such as child abuse, or spousal abuse, there are other criminal provisions or other laws dealing with those problems that certainly should be enforced," Bailey said. - U, S @% N, E5 v
0 \; @3 w$ }/ G) t9 f$ CThe Justice Department project was prompted in part by an RCMP investigation into the religious community of Bountiful in Creston, B.C., where polygamy is practised openly. ' s' V" \! o7 E1 P1 v7 q
+ ~1 Y2 q1 Z( D6 mThe British Columbia government has long been considering whether to lay charges under Section 293.
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But the project was also intended to provide the Liberal government with ammunition to help defend its same-sex marriage bill last spring. 4 \( r. j7 X! W: h* H6 k& I
' E- {7 F X( k8 q6 R8 a1 sOpponents claimed the bill, now law, was a slippery slope that would open the door to polygamy and even bestiality. : G' q3 H$ B+ q9 u- x: P2 s
8 S' ]. E5 N9 cAnother report for the project, also led by two Queen's University professors, dismisses the slippery-slope argument, saying that allowing same-sex marriages promotes equality while polygamous marriages are generally harmful to women's interests and would therefore promote inequality.
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5 U9 _2 X. n8 X5 MLiberal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said he has seen only a summary of the research reports, but already rejects lifting the criminal ban on polygamy.
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5 A( F* L0 \" B( A8 \) @& @"At this point, the practice of polygamy, bigamy and incest are criminal offences in Canada and will continue to be," he said from Montreal.
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"These reports will become part of the knowledge base on this issue and will be taken into account."
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Y! _: s9 g _( ~( rThe Bailey report, consistent with other research for the project, also concludes the courts might well rule that Canada's law banning polygamy is a violation of Canada's constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.
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& h+ I& M# x+ }& B! I% ^+ M3 iBut Section 293 would survive such a challenge because the harm to women and children in many polygamous marriages is well documented - abuse, poverty, coercion, health problems - and the limit to religious freedom would be considered "reasonable," as allowed under Section 1 of the charter.
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Although the Bountiful case raises immediate issues, Canada is also faced with a rising tide of immigration from Africa and the Middle East, where polygamy is legally and religiously sanctioned. Immigration officers can refuse entry to individuals practising polygamy.
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_- {6 a6 @2 N1 a0 w" q2 JBailey said Canada should nevertheless offer some recognition to polygamous marriages that are legally valid in foreign countries to help protect women's rights here. 1 Z/ q; w; Y0 p+ y. u9 L7 `
0 m: j, G6 U, ^3 i aAnother paper for the project, by the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre, urges British Columbia to proceed immediately with a prosecution in Bountiful. 5 C, y+ p3 ~7 q% c- N) R9 B
. _- I; B/ X g/ q"Based on the harms associated with polygamy as it is practised in Bountiful, there do not appear to be any alternatives to prosecution, however difficult it may be."
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