Trinity Western University (TWU), British Columbia’s private Christian school, faced fresh opposition Sept. 13 when members of the Law Society of New Brunswick (LSNB) voted 137-30 in favour of restricting graduates of the university’s law school from practicing in New Brunswick.
The school is currently approved by the LSNB following a council vote in June. Last week’s vote was called after more than 200 LSNB members signed a petition urging the council to reconsider.
Opponents of the school cited one section of the university’s community covenant, which all students and faculty members must sign, as the primary issue.
The section requires students to abstain from “sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman.”
David Lutz, a lawyer who voted in favour of the motion, said he would not take issue with the school if this section were to be removed.
TWU spokesperson Guy Saffold said the section will remain.
“Christian people [have] a commitment to marriage between a man and a woman,” Saffold said. “Like any other religious community with deep beliefs, we’re not inclined to want to move away from that.”
New Brunswick lawyer Stephen Holt said the Sept. 13 decision will restrict TWU graduates based on their faith.
“That, in and of itself, is discriminatory and would be in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights in that it violates their right to freedom of religion and freedom of association,” Holt said.
Saffold and Holt both insisted TWU is an accepting school, and that students will be given a complete Canadian law education. However, Lutz said he is not convinced.
“How, at a law school, can you teach Section 15 of the Charter, which says that every individual is equal?” asked Lutz. “How do you teach family law, which recognizes not only same-sex marriages, but also common-law relationships? How can you teach that if you don’t believe it’s appropriate?”
This is not the first time TWU has come under scrutiny. In 2001, TWU was the subject of a Supreme Court case which ultimately ruled against allegations that the community covenant is discriminatory.
Holt said he agrees with the 2001 decision.
“Trinity Western does not screen people in terms of their sexual orientation,” he said.
“What they do ask people to do is—again, it’s all freely and voluntarily done—to abide by the community covenant . . . There’s no compulsion whatsoever.”
Ted Flett, a second-year law student and chair of OUTLaw, the University of New Brunswick’s LGBTQ law student society, said this assumes there are an infinite number of spots in Canadian law schools. In reality, he said, this is not true.
“There’s far more demand than supply,” Flett said. “To open a new law school with the caveat that if you’re gay you don’t belong and you can apply to the other schools, that’s simply not fair.”
New Brunswick is the fourth province whose law society members have voted against TWU, after British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
The LSNB vote is non-binding, meaning the council is not obligated to review its decision, according to Holt.
