Polygamist cashes in on B.C.'s green dividend

by julianw | June 27, 2008 at 10:57 am | 166 views | 2 comments

slideshow view all 2

As NowPublic contributor Barry Artiste writes, the B.C. government is sending a $100 "climate action dividend" dividend to every person in the province. A polygamist in the town of Bountiful is receiving a larger-than-usual cash flow.

Prominent polygamist Winston Blackmore and his family could receive more than $10,000 this month from the B.C. government in so-called dividend cheques. Others in the polygamist community of Bountiful with fewer wives and smaller families will receive less, but government payments could still be substantial.

The cheques come a few weeks after Attorney-General Wally Oppal announced the appointment of a special prosecutor to decide if Mr. Blackmore and others should be charged with the crime of polygamy.

Mr. Blackmore is a leader of a religious sect in southeastern B.C. that has an undisclosed number of families. He has been reported to have more than 100 children and as many as 26 wives. In an exchange of e-mails with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Blackmore denied reports that he had 116 children but declined to reveal the number.