Court sides with law societies in TWU case

Requiring a person to behave contrary to their sexual identity is “degrading and disrespectful,’’ the Supreme Court of Canada said Friday in ruling that law societies have the right to deny accreditation to a proposed law school at a Christian university.

In a pair of landmark decisions, 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 said 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. Among the seven, several different sets of reason were provided.

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