Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Front Page National Post.

The Harper government is prepared to defend the constitutionality of Canada's criminal ban against polygamy, arguing the practice represents a "clear challenge" to Canadian values, newly released federal documents show.

In January, the RCMP charged Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler, two prominent members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect in Bountiful, B. C., with practising polygamy.

Since then, Mr. Blackmore's lawyer has vowed to cite his client's religious freedom as a defence, leading some legal and constitutional experts to speculate the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.