The Charter, a Covenant and a Controversy -- Should Trinity Western University get a Law School?
Trinity Western University (TWU), an accredited Christian institution in Langley, BC, about 50 kilometres southeast of Vancouver, wants to open a law school. All students accepted for admission to TWU must sign a Covenant agreeing among numerous other things to abstain from sexual intimacy outside the bounds of marriage. The Covenant defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Should a law school be approved at an institution which according to its Covenant is “rooted in the evangelical Protestant tradition” and which prohibits same-sex intimacy even if the same-sex partners are married? It is a question which has divided lawyers, the public, provincial law societies which help regulate the profession across the country, and the Canadian courts.
At the heart of the TWU controversy is section 2 of the Charter and its protections of the freedom of expression and religion. But equally important are the public policy arguments about the very cultural fabric of the legal profession.
The idea for this edition grew out of a CBA-Alberta Branch Editorial Committee meeting in the late fall of 2014. The Committee, headed by Rob Harvie Q.C., decided to tackle an issue that it knew to be of great interest to the profession and which has resulted in a lively division of opinion. Rather than shy away from a controversial subject, the Committee believed it was better to fully engage the profession by tackling the TWU issue with passionate and respectful debate.
The purpose of this publication and the selection of contributors are not intended to advance any particular view. Rather, our goal is to present a broad range of thoughtful views so that you, the reader, can make your own mind up about the role which law schools, law societies, legal education, cultural values, diversity, and religious expression should have in shaping our profession.
The contributors to this publication are leading commentators in the legal profession. Whatever your views might be on the TWU debate, we know you’ll find their articles provocative and insightful. Our thanks go to Lee-Anne Wright for her wonderful creative skills in putting this publication together.