The Conflict with the Government over the Vital Statistics Act

The Marriage and Vital Statistics Act

One of the greatest conflicts between the Doukhobors and the Canadian authorities arose from the Doukhobors’ refusal to register births, deaths and marriages according to the requirements of the Vital Statistics Act (J.A. Forin 1926 , 1). The Doukhobors were afraid the information recorded about their communities would be used against them, especially for the purposes of military recruitment, as it had been in Russia (Tarasoff 1995, 13).

Aylmer Maude perceived that the Doukhobors' preference to withhold information on their communities from the government could raise problems as early as 1904 (Maude 1904, 61).

In a letter to the Honourable A.M. Hanson, the Attorney General, dated October 16, 1926, Forin explained that Doukhobors do not obey the strictures of the Vital Statistics Act, but lived together under “Doukhobor Custom,” without legal recognition of the relationship (J.A. Forin 1926, 1).

Under “Doukhobor Custom,” people lived together and separated at will, and were then free to live with other people. This form of relationship was endorsed by Peter Verigin, 1857-1926, and problems for the authorities arose from the practice, especially in regard to the desertion of women (Ibid., 2).

On October 14, 1926, a story appeared in the Vancouver Province enthusiastically depicting the assimilation of the Doukhobors into Canadian society, and the ending of this practice (Isabel Forin 1926, 4). However, this issue carried on for many years and still warranted a government report in 1961 (Evans 1961).

Works Cited:

Evans, Williams. "Marriage Act", Section 42: Interim Report on Inquiries into Marriages Entered into and Solemnized in Accordance with the Rites and Ceremonies of the Doukhobor Faith or Creed . Nelson, British Columbia: Evans, 1961.

Forin, Isabel. “Time Our Ally As We Convert Doukhobors Into Law-Abiding Canadians.” Province (Vancouver). 14 October 1926: 4.

Forin, J.A. Nelson, British Columbia, to Hon. A.M. Manson, Attorney General, 16 October 1926, The Doukhobor Collection, Special Collections and Rare Books, W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University.

Maude, Aylmer. “A Criticism of Tolstoy.” A Peculiar People: The Doukhobórs. New York: Funk&Wallis, 1904: 278-310, The Doukhobor Collection, Special Collections and Rare Books, W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University.

Tarasoff, Koozma J. “Doukhobor Survival Through the Centuries.” Canadian Ethnic Studies. 27 (1995), no. 3: 4-23.