Tucked away in the quiet, southeastern corner of British Columbia, Winston Blackmore presides over a polygamist colony called Bountiful, where he lives with his estimated 20 wives and their more than 100 children.
Polygamy is illegal in Canada. Yet for years, Mr Blackmore, 50, called the 'Bishop of Bountiful', and other followers of their fundamentalist branch of the Mormon religion have continued the practice of multiple marriages, on occasion taking brides as young as 15 years old.
So far, they have eluded criminal charges.
Although the country's ban on polygamy was enacted in 1892, it has rarely ever been enforced. Prosecutors fear cases tried under the polygamy law could be thrown out of court, as the ban could be trumped by Canada's constitution, which protects freedom of religion.
But if Vancouver lawyer Richard Peck has his way, Canadian courts will soon clarify the legality of the polygamy ban once and for all.
'The legality of polygamy in Canada has for too long been characterised by uncertainty,' Mr Peck wrote in an August 1 report to the provincial Ministry of the Attorney General. 'The integrity of the legal system suffers from such an impasse, and an authoritative statement from the courts is necessary in order to resolve [the legal controversy].'
Having long struggled under public pressure to crack down on Bountiful, the ministry appointed Mr Peck as a special prosecutor in May to advise it on whether authorities had sufficient evidence and legal grounds to charge members of the community with polygamy and possible sex-related offences.