Polygamy and fraud in the Canadian Muslim community

When gay marriage was the hot potato topic du jour in Canada objections that changing the definition of marriage in law from ‘Between a man and a woman’ to anything other may open the door to polygamy was met with a rousing chorus of guffaws and general scorn. Of course there was no connection between allowing same sex people to marry and multiple person marriages.

The door had not even been half closed on gay marriage before numerous revelations about multi wife marriages in Toronto as well as fraud being committed on the Ontario welfare system by having each wife claim welfare for herself and her children often up to four wives per household.

I leave you with the following outrage:

Muslims claiming cash for numerous wives
Islamic leaders: Hundreds in GTA get extra welfare for polygamous unions
By TOM GODFREY — Sun Media

The Toronto Sun

 

 

President of the Canadian Society of Muslims Mumtaz Ali says “polygamy is a regular part of life for many Muslims.” (SUN MEDIA/Dave Thomas)

Hundreds of GTA Muslim men in polygamous marriages — some with a harem of wives — are receiving welfare and social benefits for each of their spouses, thanks to the city and province, Muslim leaders say.

Mumtaz Ali, president of the Canadian Society of Muslims, said wives in polygamous marriages are recognized as spouses under the Ontario Family Law Act, providing they were legally married under Muslim laws abroad.

“Polygamy is a regular part of life for many Muslims,” Ali said yesterday. “Ontario recognizes religious marriages for Muslims and others.”

He estimates “several hundred” GTA husbands in polygamous marriages are receiving benefits. Under Islamic law, a Muslim man is permitted to have up to four spouses.

However, city and provincial officials said legally a welfare applicant can claim only one spouse. Other adults living in the same household can apply for welfare independently.

The average recipient with a child can receive about $1,500 monthly, city officials said.

 

FAMILY LAW ACT

In addressing the issue of polygamous marriages, the preamble to the Ontario Family Law Act states: “In the definition of ‘spouse,’ a reference to marriage includes a marriage that is actually or potentially polygamous, if it was celebrated in a jurisdiction whose system of law recognizes it as valid. R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, s. 1 (2).”

“There are many people in the community who are taking advantage of this,” Ali said. “This is a law and there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Immigration officials said yesterday that polygamous marriages aren’t allowed in Canada, but that contradicts the provincial law.

“Canada is a very liberal-minded country,” Ali said. “Canada is way ahead of Britain in this respect.”

He said Britain recently began permitting husbands to collect benefits for each of their wives.

The British government recently admitted that nearly a thousand men are living legally with multiple wives in Britain. Although the families are entitled to claim social security for each wife, the department for work and pensions said it has not counted how many are on benefits.

In Canada, Ali said, the man and his main wife and children enter Canada as landed immigrants. The other spouses are sponsored or arrive as visitors to join their husband to share one home.

POSSIBLE FRAUD

The families receiving benefits didn’t want their identities released because it can lead to questions by authorities on how they entered Canada and can mean an end to their benefits, Ali said.

Brenda Nesbitt, the city’s director of social services, said benefits are only paid to one spouse and names and addresses are cross-checked for possible fraud.

“There may be polygamous cases we are not aware off,” Nesbitt said yesterday. “They can apply as single people and we won’t know.”

Ontario Community and Social Services spokesman Erike Botond said a social assistance benefit may only include one spouse. “Other adults residing in the same dwelling place as a recipient and their spouse may apply as individuals.”

“I can assure you that polygamy is not recognized under immigration legislation,” immigration spokesman Karen Shadd-Evelyn said yesterday. “A conjugal relationship, whether involving marriage or a common-law partnership, must be exclusive.”

Councillor Rob Ford said taxpayers’ money should be spent on education and schools instead.

“This is wrong,” Ford said yesterday. “They should put a stop to this immediately.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

2 Replies to “Polygamy and fraud in the Canadian Muslim community”

  1. Saskatchewan judges and attorney generals have twice ruled Polygamy crimes are not applicable in Saskatchewan. They use the below copied section of the family property act to allow plural conjugal unions. One can hardly blame Muslims who had multiple partners where they came from when Canada allows it to happen in Saskatchewan and doesn’t charge judges who create these plural unions under Canadian law!
    s.51
    Rights of new spouse
    51 Where a person becomes the spouse of a person who has a spouse, the rights
    pursuant to this Act of the subsequent spouse are subject to the rights pursuant to
    this Act of the prior spouse.

  2. s.51
    The Saskatchewan Polygamy law should be changed to read:
    Rights of new spouse
    51 Where a person becomes the spouse of a person who has a spouse, the rights
    pursuant to this Act of the subsequent spouse are subject to the rights pursuant to
    this Act of the prior spouse, AFTER A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION CONCLUDES WHICH PERSONS ARE RESPONSIBLE AND GUILTY FOR BREAKING THE CRIMINAL CODE s.293 (POLYGAMY)