Trinity Western University (TWU), a self-described evangelical Christian university, is in the process of gaining the approval needed to open a school of law. They are faced with another hiccup as the B.C. minister of higher education, Amrik Virk, said he is considering revoking his consent for the school.
To be opened, the TWU school of law needs consent from the Federation of Law Societies, the B.C. Law Society, and the minister. All three had agreed to the school’s opening. However, a vote among B.C. lawyers caused the B.C. Law Society to reconsider and retract their consent on Oct. 31.
This change in B.C. comes from concerns raised over the community covenant that TWU students, faculty, and staff are required to sign which states “sexual intimacy is reserved for marriage between one man and one woman.”
Virk said in a provided statement, “earlier this year, I informed TWU that if there was a substantive change to the program, such as a reversal of the B.C. Law Society’s initial approval, I might have to reconsider my consent.”
“Since then, the B.C. Law Society voted not to approve the proposed law school at TWU. If TWU graduates are unable to practice law in British Columbia, that would constitute a substantive change to the program requiring reconsideration of my consent,” he said.
“I have now notified TWU that I am considering revoking consent, but before I make any decision, I have invited TWU to make submissions. If consent is revoked, TWU can resubmit its application after the legal challenges are resolved.”
The legal challenges in which TWU is currently involved are lawsuits against the Ontario and Nova Scotia law societies who voted to deny TWU law school graduates from practicing law in those provinces.
TWU submitted its letter of response to Virk’s statement on Nov 28. Should the minister revoke his consent, TWU may reapply once these lawsuits are closed.
The lack of consent from the B.C, Ontario, and Nova Scotia law societies bar TWU law school graduates from practicing law in these provinces. Other provinces’ law societies, however, have agreed to TWU law school grads practicing there, including Alberta.
The past president of the Law Society of Alberta, Carsten Jensen, said in a statement, “the Law Society of Alberta is aware of likely challenges to the approval decision of the Federation.”
“We would welcome a judicial determination that would have national application, as that would preserve the national mobility regime, while deciding whether the TWU community covenant can be maintained in a school offering an accredited legal education in Canada,” he said.
The national mobility regime means “a law license from any province allows each lawyer to practice, on a temporary or permanent basis, in every other province in the country,” regardless of which provinces have given them consent, according to Jensen.
In 2001, TWU faced a situation similar to the current law school debate over its teacher’s college. Their case was argued in the Supreme Court over issues surrounding the community covenant. The court ruled in favour of the university, citing religious freedom.
A communications co-ordinator in TWU’s communications department, who requested to be anonymous, said, “TWU is pretty confident and pretty hopeful that with the precedent in 2001 and clause 3.1 in the Civil Marriage Act, which gives exemptions for religious peoples to maintain traditional understandings of marriage . . . that our school of law will be able to open.”
They said TWU is hopeful to have classes in the school of law beginning in September 2016.
Earl Phillips, executive director of TWU’s proposed school of law said in an email, “There is a range of Charter freedoms at stake here. [If] a court decides that a Christian community is not allowed to work, live, and study together in a way that honours the traditional Christian conception of marriage, then we have significantly less freedom of conscience and religion in Canada.”
“A lawyer’s personal beliefs are irrelevant to his or her capacity in the courtroom,” he said.
