FRIDAY
DECEMBER 2, 2016
Townsman A Quintet Of Elk Take The Plunge, Crossing the St. Mary River Near St. Eugene — Stewart Wilson photo
Cranbrook
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Vol. 70, Issue 170
Artists At The Vault: Page 2
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Ktunaxa makes case to Supreme Court of Canada T R E VO R C R AW L E Y
The Supreme Court of Canada heard a legal challenge from the Ktunaxa Nation on Thursday in an effort to reaffirm their Charter right of religious freedom over disputed land that carries significant spiritual importance. A long-running dispute between the Ktunaxa and the provincial government has gone to the highest court in the land, as the First Nations group takes issue with government approval of a ski resort in Jumbo Valley. The area includes Toby-Jumbo Watershed, the South Fork Glacier Creek, Horsethief Creek and Farnham Creeks. The Ktunaxa argue that the approval of the resort, on land that known as Qat’muk and is the home to the Grizzly Bear spirit, infringes on their right to freedom of religion. Both the B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal sided with the provincial government in previous rulings.
BARRY COULTER PHOTO
ELVES COME OFF THE SHELVES: Tanner Wasylowich (centre of the pack) takes the lead role in Parkland Middle School’s production of “Elk Jr. The Musical,” opening next week at the Key City Theatre in Cranbrook. Tanner is surrounded by the cast of this presentation to help lift you full on into the Christmas season. See more, Page 2.
Trial shines light on secretive community TRE VOR CR AWLEY
See KTUNAXA, Page 4
The trial for a trio of Bountiful members facing alleged child trafficking charges has been adjourned until closing arguments begin in Cranbrook Supreme Court on Monday. The Crown’s case in front of Justice Paul Pearlman concluded on Tuesday, with the accused choosing not to
mount a defence. James Oler, Brandon Blackmore and Emily Blackmore are charged with alleged removal of child from Canada, under a criminal code subsection that their removal would facilitate sexual interference or invitation to sexual touching. At the heart of the trial are two children who were
removed from the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint (FLDS) community of Bountiful, one hour west of Cranbrook near Creston, and married to men in the United States. The marriages of the girls, who were 13- and 15-years-old at the time, occurred in 2004. Their ages
are confirmed by birth certificates — their identities are protected by a publication ban. According to priesthood records seized by police during a raid on an FLDS compound in Texas, the 13-year-old girl was married to Warren Jeffs, the leader and prophet of the FLDS, on March 1, 2004, as one of
seven marriages conducted that day. The record lists Brandon Blackmore as a witness. The second child, 15, was married to James Leroy Johnson on June 25, 2004, in one of 18 weddings that day, with the record listing James Oler as one of the witnesses.
See TRIAL, Page 4
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