Trinity Western Surrenders Major Battle in War on Christianity

Trinity Western drops mandatory covenant forbidding sex

outside of heterosexual marriage

Bethany Lindsay · CBC News 

Students walk past a cross on campus at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

Students at Trinity Western University will no longer have to sign an agreement promising to abstain from all sex outside of heterosexual marriage.

The board of governors for the evangelical Christian university in Langley, B.C., voted on a motion Thursday to drop the mandatory requirement that students adhere to what the school calls its community covenant.

The motion said the change was made "in furtherance of our desire to maintain TWU as a thriving community of Christian believers that is inclusive of all students wishing to learn from a Christian viewpoint and underlying philosophy."

The change will come into effect beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, and applies to new and continuing students.

In a written statement, TWU president Bob Kuhn said the school will continue to be a "Christ-centred" facility.

"Let there be no confusion regarding the board of governors' resolution; our mission remains the same. We will remain a Biblically-based, mission-focused, academically excellent university, fully committed to our foundational evangelical Christian principles," Kuhn said.

The covenant binds students to a strict code of conduct that includes abstinence from sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman, and it was at the centre of a long legal battle over TWU's plans for a law school.

The law school was granted preliminary approval by the B.C. government in 2013, but that was later withdrawn in the face of legal challenges.

In June, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that provincial law societies have the power to refuse accreditation for the school, saying the covenant would deter LGBTQ students from attending.

The majority judgment said that LGBTQ students who attended a TWU law school would be at risk of significant harm.

The case went to the top court after the law societies of B.C., Ontario and Nova Scotia had all refused to accredit graduates of the school, saying the covenant discriminates against LGBT students.

In B.C. and Nova Scotia, courts had sided with TWU, ruling the university has the right to act on its beliefs as long as there is no evidence of harm.

Ontario's Court of Appeal ruled the other way, calling the covenant "deeply discriminatory to the LGBT community."

Christianity, itself, is discriminatory to the LGBTQ2SIX community. How long before Christian Universities and schools are completely eliminated? Not long, I suspect.

Freedom of Religion in Canada is Now Officially Dead

A Major Loss in the War on Christianity in Canada

It was just a matter of time before Christian rights, recognized since the country began, were surrendered to the LGBTQ lobby in Canada. It's a little surprising that that time is now!

B.C. Christian university loses Supreme Court battle over LGBTQ case

The Canadian Press

Societies governing the legal profession have the right to deny accreditation to a proposed law school at a Christian university in British Columbia, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.

In a pair of keenly anticipated decisions Friday, the high court said law societies in Ontario and British Columbia were entitled to ensure equal access to the bar, support diversity and prevent harm to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students.

The cases pitted two significant societal values – freedom of religion and promotion of equality – against one another.

Trinity Western University, a private post-secondary institution in Langley, B.C., was founded on evangelical Christian principles and requires students to adhere to a covenant allowing sexual intimacy only between a married man and woman.

Law societies overseeing the profession in Ontario and British Columbia say they would not license graduates from Trinity Western because the covenant amounts to discrimination against LGBTQ people.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario had upheld the rejection, while B.C.’s top court sided with the university.

In each case, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favour of the respective law society.

A majority found that the decisions to deny accreditation were reasonable because they appropriately balanced the interference to freedom of religion with the public-interest objectives of the law societies.

In the decision concerning Ontario, five Supreme Court justices said the province’s law society interfered only with the university’s ability to operate a law school governed by the mandatory covenant.

“This limitation is of minor significance because a mandatory covenant is not absolutely required to study law in a Christian environment in which people follow certain religious rules of conduct, and attending a Christian law school is preferred, not necessary, for prospective TWU law students.”

Trinity Western proposed the law school in 2012 and received approval to open from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and the province’s Ministry of Advanced Education.

The university wanted to ensure its graduates would be eligible to be called to the bar throughout Canada, and therefore applied to the provincial law societies for accreditation of the planned law school.

Six law societies – Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador – have granted accreditation.

In Ontario, the benchers of the Law Society of Upper Canada – since renamed the Law Society of Ontario – denied accreditation to the school in a 28-21 vote.

In reviewing the decision, an Ontario court found the society had undertaken a reasonable balancing of the charter protections at issue. The ruling was upheld on appeal.

British Columbia’s law society denied recognition to the school on the basis of a binding referendum of its members. The reviewing court ruled that the process ignored an obligation to consider the competing charter rights at play, and set aside the law society’s decision. An appeal court affirmed the ruling.

This decision, as one man put it, means that you are free to practice your faith in your church, but not to take it out into your profession life or anywhere else in the world.

The decision could only be arrived at by people who don't actually believe that there is a real God. They assume those of us who believe in Him are deceived fools who have no right to bring our foolishness into 'real' society, where men can look down at their genitals and decide they are women. Such 'real' people have to be protected from God-fearing people like me.

The good news is, it won't be long before The Lord returns and 'resets' the world's moral clock. Until then, it will continue to keep clicking backward.

Trinity Western University ‘Optimistic’ After Supreme Court Hearing

War on Christianity - Canadian Front

Supreme Court considers accreditation of proposed law school

DAN FERGUSON 

Trinity Western University (TWU), in Langley, British Columbia, said it was “optimistic Canada’s highest court will arrive at a decision that supports the freedom of all faith groups and other minorities in Canada” following two days of legal arguments at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa concerning a proposed faith-based law school at the Langley campus.

The case involved two appeals concerning accreditation of the TWU law school, one involving a decision of the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) and the other a decision of the Law Society of Ontario (LSO).

At issue is the university community covenant that requires students and staff to abstain from non-heterosexual relationships, something critics say violates the Canadian charter of rights.

It actually requires students to abstain from any sexual relationships outside of marriage between a man and a woman.

Both the B.C. and Ontario bodies refused to recognize the proposed law school.

In BC, the decision was overturned by the lower courts, while in Ontario, the LSO’s refusal to accredit was upheld.

The last time the university went to court over the covenant, it won a 2001 case over its teacher training program when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled there was no evidence to suggest that the religious views of TWU graduates would lessen their competence to practice their profession in Canada’s pluralistic society.

During the two days of arguments that ended on Friday, the high court heard multiple submissions from people on both sides of the law school issue.

Among the detractors were the BC Humanist Association, an atheist group which argued that TWU cannot claim its religious freedom has been infringed as organizations do not have religious rights in Canada, and West Coast LEAF, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, which defended the decision to deny accreditation to TWU’s proposed law school on the basis that it would engage in discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, and sexual orientation.

“As the gatekeeper to the legal profession and the judiciary, and as a public entity whose decisions must comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, law societies cannot condone a law school that will through its admissions practices widen the gap between historically disadvantaged groups and the rest of society,” said a LEAF statement issued before the hearing began.

I would hope that the Supreme Court Justices would have enough wisdom to see that this is vexatious, an act of hostility against all religion and Christianity in particular.

In his opening statement, Trinity Western University (TWU) Counsel Kevin Boonstra framed the matter as a freedom of religion issue.

“The Charter protects the right to establish communities of faith like TWU,” Boonstra said.

“In order for any religious community to exist and thrive, it has to be able to define itself. In the evangelical context, this includes defining religiously appropriate conduct while individuals are part of the community.”

Outside court, TWU president Bob Kuhn said the case was about more than just a law school.

“It is about freedom for all faith communities and other minorities in Canada,” Kuhn said.

Kuhn led the legal team that won the 2001 Supreme Court case concerning the TWU covenant and the BC College of Teachers refusal to recognize their teacher training program.

“As the BC Court of Appeal stated when it decided in favour of the law school, ‘a society that does not admit of and accommodate differences cannot be a free and democratic society’,” Kuhn said.

A statement issued by TWU following the hearing said the university “welcomes any student who is prepared to live and learn according to the values and principles of its community – regardless of race, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, or place of origin” and said the covenant was “not so different from a code of ethics or a code of conduct, which most universities have.”

The covenant, TWU said, calls on all who attend and work at TWU to live by “virtues such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, compassion, humility, forgiveness, peacemaking, mercy and justice;” it also defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The court’s decision is expected within the next several months.

Trinity Western University Law School Wins Legal Battle in B.C. Court

The tide is turning in the war on Christianity

Court dismisses law society's attempts to block accreditation of Christian law school

By Mike Laanela and Farrah Merali, CBC News


The Law Society of B.C. denied accreditation to graduates of Trinity Western's proposed law school over the university's 'community covenant,' which the society said discriminated against gays and lesbians hoping to enter the legal profession. (CBC)

The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld the right of future graduates of the faith-based Trinity Western University (TWU) Law School to practise law in the province. 

The ruling upholds a previous decision made by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who ruled the Law Society of B.C. was wrong to deny accreditation to future alumni of the Christian university's proposed law school.

'Everyone, religious or not, should celebrate this decision.'

University spokeswoman Amy Robertson

At issue was the school's so-called community covenant, which all students must sign, pledging to be sexually intimate only with a member of the opposite sex to whom they are married. 

On Tuesday morning in Vancouver, the court dismissed an appeal from the law society, which had argued the covenant discriminated against members of the LGBT community.

Instead, the panel of justices ruled that the society's decision to deny accreditation limits the university's right to freedom of religion in a disproportionate way.

Charter issues

In the written decision, the justices highlighted charter issues and the impact that banning the university's graduates would have on TWU's rights.

The law society's opposition "denies these Evangelical Christians the ability to exercise fundamental religious and associative rights," which are protected under the Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, they wrote.

Law school accreditation denial upheld by Ontario court

The judges stated while LGBT students would be unlikely to attend TWU's law school, the overall impact on their access to education in the legal field would be minimal.

Just what I have been saying for years. 

The panel ruled that not accrediting TWU graduates would be "unreasonable."

The law school was slated to open this fall, but on Tuesday university officials said because of the ongoing legal disputes, the earliest it will now open is in 2018.


University celebrates

TWU said in a statement it is pleased with the decision.

"Everyone, religious or not, should celebrate this decision as a protection of our Canadian identity," said university spokeswoman Amy Robertson.

It's unclear if the law society will challenge the ruling. In a statement it said the ruling "adds another dimension to an already complex issue," and that it is considering its next steps.

But today's ruling is unlikely to be the last word in the long-running legal battle by the university's law school, which has also been fighting for recognition in Nova Scotia and Ontario as well.

The case appears almost certain to end up before the Supreme Court of Canada after the Ontario Court of Appeal sided with the Law Society of Upper Canada in June.

The university indicated at the time it would seek an appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada.


Nova Scotia abandons fight

Meanwhile in Nova Scotia, the Barristers' Society announced in July it would not appeal a ruling allowing graduates to practise in the province.

Five law societies — in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island — have all granted accreditation to the law school, while the the society in Newfoundland and Labrador has yet to decide its position. They run on Newfie time; it may take awhile.


Long-running legal battle

Today's decision follows a lengthy battle that dates to 2014 when the Law Society of B.C.'s board of governors voted to accredit TWU graduates.

That decision was reversed in October 2014 when the society held a referendum in which members voted 74 per cent against it.

That move was then challenged at the B.C. Supreme Court, where a judge ruled the governors' original decision should be restored because the society had acted improperly in how it held the referendum.

Rare Win for the Good-Guys in War on Christianity

Trinity Western University wins legal battle with N.S. Barristers' Society

Society had argued 'community covenant' discriminated against gay people

By Stephanie Skenderis, Jon Tattrie, CBC News 


Trinity Western University students must sign a covenant recognizing the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman. (CBC)

Nova Scotia's highest court has upheld a decision to allow future graduates of a conservative and controversial law school to practise in the province.

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision released Tuesday rules in favour of the proposed law school at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia.

Freedom of conscience and religion

is the first fundamental freedom upheld in the charter

- Trinity Western University

The private, Christian university had been turned down by the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society in 2014 because it requires students and staff to abide by a community covenant. The covenant says students must abstain from sexual intimacy that violates the "sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman."

The barristers' society says that covenant violates the Charter of Rights with regards to sexual orientation and so it refused accreditation to graduates.

But the court said the society's council did not have the authority to "issue rulings whether someone in British Columbia 'unlawfully' violated the Human Rights Act or the charter."

The court did not comment on the charter arguments.

'Freedom of conscience'

Trinity Western spokeswoman Amy Robertson has said the covenant has "nothing to do with wanting to push away members of the LGBT communities."

"The community covenant is a core part of defining the TWU community as distinctly Christian," she said Tuesday.

"We are not making a statement about LGBTQ people; we are making a statement about traditional Christian marriage, which is sacred to us. The same covenant calls for all members of the TWU community to respect the dignity of others regardless of their background."

The university took the case to the provincial Supreme Court — and won. The barristers' society's appeal was heard in April.

"Freedom of conscience and religion is the first fundamental freedom upheld in the charter," Robertson said in a news release Tuesday.

"Everyone, religious or not, should celebrate this decision, which amounts to a protection of our freedom and our identity."

The planned law school has already received accreditation in six other provinces: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. It is expected to open in 2018.

Legal fights across Canada

The Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario) rejected the proposed school as well. Trinity Western appealed, but in June, received a negative ruling from the Ontario Court of Appeal. 

The Law Society of British Columbia has also said it will not recognize graduates from the proposed school. That case is before the courts. 

B.C. had originally accepted the University program but then caved under LGBTQ lobbying.

Trinity Western says it ultimately expects the matter to go before the Supreme Court of Canada.

That will be the final skirmish in this battle. Christians should be praying for that event, and praising God for today's ruling.

War on Christians Lands a Blow for the Good Guys

Law Society's discriminatory decision against Trinity Western law school overturned by B.C. Supreme Court

CBC News 

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has overturned the Law Society referendum
denying accreditation to graduates from Trinity Western University. (CBC)

The university filed suit following the results of the referendum October 2014 in which Law Society members voted that graduates from TWU's proposed law school would not be recognised.

That referendum had overturned a decision by the Law Society board (known as the Benchers) in April 2014 to approve accreditation for TWU graduates.

Chief Justice Hinkson ordered the October 2014 decision quashed, and the original Benchers' decision allowing accreditation to stand.

In his judgement released Thursday, Hinkson said the Benchers had acted improperly when they allowed the LSBC members to hold the later referendum, essentially delegating the decision to the members.

Hinkson added that, even if his decision on the delegation is found to be wrong, it remains the case that the referendum "was made without proper consideration and balancing of the Charter rights at issue, and therefore cannot stand."

Charter rights in conflict

The TWU School of Law has yet to open its doors to its first class of students, but at the heart of the controversy is Trinity Western's requirement that students must sign a Christian covenant that states sexual relations are to be confined within the bounds of a marriage between a man and a woman.

The procedural decision reached by Hinkson precluded a proper discussion of the conflicting charter rights between freedom of religion and equality rights, Kendra Milne, director of law reform at West Coast Leaf said in a statement.

"It is unfortunate that this important issue, which engages fundamental rights, was not resolved in the decision and that the procedural issues in the case may cause additional delays in having these important issues determined.

"B.C. lawyers voted twice and made it very clear that they want an inclusive profession that respects equality."

They want Christians to be morally equal to gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, and trannys.

After the October 2014 vote, Victoria lawyer Michael Mulligan said the school's policy is discriminatory against people in LGBTQ relationships.

Hello? It's a Christian school! How many LGBTQs attend or want to attend Trinity Western - zero! There's no conflict here. This is simply an overt attack on Christianity by the LGBTQ community and its supporters.

"The policies of this university are inconsistent with core values of the legal profession, insofar that this university continues to dispel or expel students for their private sexual activities," he said at the time.

In July this year, an Ontario court upheld the Ontario law society's refusal to accredit TWU law graduates, but in March, Nova Scotia's Supreme Court ruled that its province's law society could not deny accreditation to TWU law grads (the decision is being appealed). 

Insanity Reigns as Trinity Western University & B.C. Law Society Face Off in Supreme Court

The case centres around a covenant students have to sign 

that rejects same-sex marriage

CBC News

The B.C. Law Society initially accredited Trinity Western University's law
program, but then reversed its position. (Trinity Western University)

A B.C. Supreme Court judge will hear arguments this week about whether future graduates of a Christian university's law school should be able to practise in the province.

At issue is the covenant Trinity Western University's law students must sign, which says marital sex can only happen between men and women. 

"It's not for everyone, but it is important for those who would like to attend such a school," said Earl Phillips, the law school's executive director.

Phillips said not allowing the accreditation of the program would be discriminatory against the school's students.

The B.C. Law Society initially accredited the program, but then reversed its position after members voted against accreditation.

Can you say: gay lobby?

The judicial review is expected to last five days.

An Ontario court has already upheld the Ontario law society's refusal to accredit TWU graduates, while Nova Scotia's law society is appealing a court ruling that stopped it from denying accreditation to graduates.

The proposed law school has yet to open.

It's tragically funny how much society has changed in just one generation. 20, 30, 40 years ago, Trinity's standards would have been considered excessively moral. They haven't changed, but they are now considered immoral, discriminatory against gays. Even though 99.9% of gays wouldn't be caught dead in Trinity Western University - they feel discriminated against. How absurd is that? And how absurd is it that law societies and courts agree with them? Insanity reigns!