Trinity Western prepares law school defense
School of Law hangs in the balance as court challenges loom
LANGLEY, BC—Trinity Western University (TWU) continues to come under fire as it proceeds with plans to open a law school in less than two years.
On December 11, Amrik Virk, B.C.’s Advanced Education Minister, rescinded approval for TWU's proposed School of Law. The decision means TWU will have to resolve the ongoing dispute, stemming from opposition to a statement in its community covenant, in court before reapplying for provincial approval.
“We have not chosen these fights,” says Earl Phillips, executive director of TWU’s School of Law, yet TWU finds itself struggling on a number of fronts in the lead up to a projected 2016 opening.
The biggest hurdle remains the opposition towards a section in the covenant that includes a stance against “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.”
Almost since the school’s inception, there has been outcry, with some provincial law societies declaring they will not allow TWU students to practice law in their jurisdictions.
“For many people [the covenant] is the end of the story,” Phillips says. “People make up their minds there, no more thinking… it’s a visceral reaction.”
“The University is so much more than the debate surrounding the covenant,” says TWU president Bob Kuhn in a statement. “We are open and welcoming, and believe in the rights of all Canadians to their personal beliefs and values.”
Phillips says the issue is about honouring the community of faith, as the students and staff seek to live and honour the Christian conception of marriage.
“On a factual basis [the covenant] is not anti-gay,” Phillips says. “It’s a positive statement on how Christians want to live and work together.”
The covenant of faith states explicitly the Christian virtues of care, love and understanding, while protecting the human dignity of all people, Phillips says. The point of objection makes up a very small part of the covenant, specifically the promise to keep sexual relations confined to a man and a woman within the context of marriage.
Phillips says the covenant only addresses conduct.
“The issue is our conduct. We love and value the individual, even if we disagree with their conduct,” Phillips says. “But people can’t see that distinction.”
The entire issue speaks to a worrying trend, he says.
“It’s a substantial hit against freedom of religion, expression and association, and will affect everyone’s freedoms,” Phillips says. “It’s very important, very fundamental.”
“People of faith need to understand the negative effects of this issue, and what it means for all our freedoms,” Phillips says, adding Christians need to stand up for their rights that, “we have until now taken for granted.”
John Carpay, president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, has been speaking up for constitutional rights for over a decade in Canada. A lawyer himself, he says many Canadians simply don’t understand that fundamental rights like freedom of religion and freedom of association allow for the creation of cultural organizations, charities and even sporting groups. Without the freedom of association these groups couldn’t exist.
“Lawyers should know better,” Carpay says of the current challenges.
While some find TWU’s definition of marriage objectionable, the freedom of expression is not void if a person doesn’t agree with the organization, Carpay says.
“They say they support the freedom of expression, but they don’t see the full implications,” Carpay says.
For now, Carpay says it is up to the courts to protect the constitutional rights of TWU.
Trinity Western University’s School of Law would be Canada’s first private law school. Virk initially gave his approval last year, giving TWU until December 2016 to enroll its first law students.
However a number of groups, including OUTlaws, a network of LGBTQ Canadian law students, wrote Virk in October urging him to take back his approval. Virk later sent his own letter to TWU stating he was considering revoking his consent, even after the Federation of Law Societies of Canada gave TWU the green light, encouraging provinces and territories to provide accreditation.
Not all provinces and territories are complying. Benchers with the Law Society of British Columbia voted to reverse their previous decision to recognize graduates of TWU’s School of Law.
In Nova Scotia, the province’s Supreme Court heard presentations December 16-19 in Trinity Western University v. Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, as the society seeks to bar TWU students from practicing law there.
A similar challenge between TWU and the Law Society of Upper Canada will take place at the Ontario Superior Court January 19-23.
It is expected the case will eventually make its way to the Supreme Court of Canada, in a situation similar to 1995 when the B.C. College of Teachers refused to accredit TWU students because of the same clause in the school’s covenant.
TWU went on to win that case, as the court cited an absence of concrete evidence that TWU fosters discrimination, upholding the freedom of individuals to adhere to religious beliefs while at TWU.
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