Appeals Court Affirms Denial Of Accreditation Of Canada's First Christian Law School

Toronto Star, Ontario Appeal Court Upholds Decision Not to Accredit Evangelical Law School:

Ontario’s top court delivered a strong affirmation of LGBTQ rights on Wednesday when it upheld a decision not to accredit an evangelical Christian law school [Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of Upper Canada, 2016 ONCA 518 (June 29, 2016)].

The Court of Appeal ruled that the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC), which regulates lawyers in Ontario, was entitled in 2014 to deny accreditation to Trinity Western University’s proposed law school over its “community covenant,” which students must abide by and prohibits sex outside of heterosexual marriage.

“My conclusion is a simple one,” wrote Justice James MacPherson for a unanimous three-judge panel. “The part of TWU’s community covenant in issue in this appeal is deeply discriminatory to the LGBTQ community, and it hurts.”

MacPherson wrote that the decision not to accredit does infringe on TWU’s right to freedom of religion, but not to the point where it must be overturned.

• Globe and Mail, Ontario Appeal Court Upholds Law Society’s Stand on Trinity Western University
• Hamilton Spectator, Private Christian University Loses Appeal at Ontario’s Top Court
• Legal Feeds, Ontario Appeal Court Upholds Law Society Rejection of TWU Law School
• Vancouver, Trinity Western University Loses Law-School Appeal at Ontario's Top Court

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Deans Oppose Canada's First Christian Law School (Jan. 19, 2013)
• An Argument for a Christian Law School in Canada (Aug. 4, 2013)
• Canada Approves First Christian Law School Despite Opposition Over Student Code of Conduct Prohibiting Gay 'Sexual Intimacy' (Dec. 20, 2013)
• Legal Education, Religious and Secular: The Trinity Western University Controversy and Beyond (June 1, 2014)
• Legal Education, Gay Rights and Religion: Living by a Different Law (Nov. 9, 2014)
• Canada's First Christian Law School Sues Over Denial of Accreditation Due to Student Code of Conduct (Dec. 25, 2014)
• Will Christian Colleges (And Law Schools) Lose Their Tax Exemption After Obergefell? (July 5, 2015)
• Brunson: Churches And Religiously-Affiliated Schools That Oppose Same-Sex Marriage Will Not Lose Their Tax Exemption After Obergefell (July 12, 2015)
• The Accreditation Battle Over Canada's First Christian Law School (Apr. 24, 2016)
• More On The Accreditation Battle Over Canada's First Christian Law School (June 5, 2016)