Judge to rule Feb. 3 in polygamists’ case
CRANBROOK, B.C. — A judge says he will deliver his verdict on Feb. 3 in the case of three people from a polygamous community in British Columbia who are charged with removing girls from Canada for a sexual purpose.
Justice Paul Pearlman of the B.C. Supreme Court reserved his decision after hearing from an impartial legal adviser in the case Wednesday.
Joe Doyle argued there’s nothing that shows Gail Blackmore aided or abetted in the removal of a 13-yearold girl from Canada.
She and her estranged husband Brandon Blackmore are alleged to have taken the teenage girl to the United States in 2004 to marry Warren Jeffs, the prophet of the polygamous sect who is now in prison.
Doyle was appointed as amicus curiae, or friend of the court, because Gail Blackmore and co-accused James Oler have chosen to represent themselves.
Oler faces the same charges as the Blackmores, but in connection to the marriage of a 15-year-old girl to another church member in the United States in June 2004.
Pot use on rise, survey finds
TORONTO — With Ottawa poised to legalize recreational marijuana next year, researchers are keeping a close eye on use of the drug, which has been steadily trending upward over the last couple of decades.
In Ontario, for instance, a survey released Wednesday by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found that past-year cannabis use virtually doubled between 1996 and 2015, rising from about eight per cent to almost 15 per cent of respondents.
Significant increases were found among all age groups, but especially among 18- to 29-year-olds, with the proportion of pot smokers jumping from about 18 per cent in 1996 to 38 per cent in 2015.
“We also see that the cannabisusing population is aging, as well,” said senior scientist Robert Mann, who co-authored the CAMH Monitor report on substance use and mental health status among a representative sample of more than 5,000 Ontario adults.
Last year, 23 per cent of those using marijuana were aged 50 and older — an eight-fold jump since 1977, when just three per cent of users were in that age bracket.
No body cameras for RCMP for now
OTTAWA — Mounties won’t be wearing tiny video cameras — at least for now.
The RCMP says it is postponing the deployment of body-worn cameras after testing revealed technical problems, including limited battery life and lack of durability.
Rolling out the cameras would mean purchasing thousands of units for more than 750 detachments.
The national police force says that means it must have confidence in the technology and ensure the expenditure is justified.
Body-worn cameras generally clip on a uniform, or can be embedded in glasses or a helmet. They are used to gather evidence for prosecution should criminal behaviour be recorded and to bolster accountability if questions arise after an incident.