OTTAWA – Law societies in Canada lack the legal and moral jurisdiction to regulate the personal religious beliefs of their members, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada will argue this week at the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. The EFC’s arguments are shared by Christian Higher Education Canada, a national association of Canadian universities, colleges, seminaries and other post-secondary institutions.
The Court is hearing arguments from December 16 to 19 in
Trinity Western University and Brayden Volkenant v. Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.
Facts:
- Trinity Western University (TWU), a private Christian liberal arts university with six professional schools, won approval from the B.C. government for a professional law school in December 2013.
- The Federation of Law Societies of Canada (FLSC) approved the TWU law school in December 2013.
- The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (NSBS), a member of the FLSC, decided in April 2014 that it will refuse to accept graduates of the TWU law school because it deems TWU’s Community Covenant to be discriminatory.
- The NSBS objected to the section of the Community Covenant requiring students to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman – a view which is informed by the University’s religious commitments.
- Earlier this month the B.C. government revoked its approval for TWU’s law school based on the decisions of the NSBS and the law societies of BC and Ontario.
“The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society is bound by the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and its decision violates the equality rights and religious freedom of TWU graduates,” says Bruce Clemenger, President of the EFC. “If law societies are allowed to regulate the religious beliefs of their future members, will they take the next step and regulate beliefs of current members as well?”
The EFC will argue:
- It is outside the jurisdiction of the Law Society to approve the law school and seek to regulate the personal religious beliefs of those practicing law.
- The Law Society is bound by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its decision violates the equality rights and freedoms of TWU and its graduates.
- Religious communities have the right to maintain their religious identity.
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For more information or an interview contact:
Rick Hiemstra, Director of Media Relations
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
(613) 233-9868 x332
MediaRelations@theEFC.ca