Decision day in legal battle over Christian law school
Posted November 1, 2016 6:23 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The British Columbia Court of Appeal is expected to rule today on whether graduates of a proposed law school at a Christian university would be allowed to work in BC.
The decision marks the latest development in Trinity Western University’s quest to clinch cross-country accreditation for its future lawyers.
The Law Society of BC opted to not recognize future graduates because of Trinity’s requirement that students sign a so-called community covenant pledging that sexual intimacy should only occur within a heterosexual marriage.
The society says the policy discriminates against gays and lesbians hoping to enter the legal profession. Late last year, the BC Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Fraser Valley school.
Trinity’s code of conduct has stirred up controversy elsewhere. In July, the society representing lawyers in Nova Scotia said it would not challenge a Nova Scotia Appeal Court decision to allow the university’s law graduates to work in that province.
A similar legal battle is underway in the Ontario Court of Appeal, though the court ruled in favour of that province’s law society.
