The Supreme Court of Canada
Summary:
Ontario and British Columbia’s law societies decided not to accredit Trinity Western University’s law school because it required students to adhere to a Covenant that prohibited sexual intimacy outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. The law school challenged this decision on the grounds that it violated freedom of religion. ARPA intervened and explained to several levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, how the law societies’ decisions violate Christians’ equality and freedom of association by limiting their access to a religious education. Disappointingly, the Supreme Court found that the law societies had authority to interfere with Trinity Western’s admissions policy. Although the Court acknowledged that freedom of religion was violated to some extent by the refusal to accredit the school, the decision was justified because it protected LGBT students’ equal access to education and promoted confidence in the legal profession.
ARPA Canada’s submissions to the Supreme Court.
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