Canadian education minister revokes approval for Christian law school

The British Columbia Advanced Education Minister has revoked approval for Canada’s first Christian law school, citing ongoing legal issues.

Amrik Virk notified Trinity Western University (TWU) of his decision via a letter on Thursday, almost exactly one year after he approved the school to begin enrolling students. Virk said he was reversing his decision because of the Law Society of British Columbia’s October vote to not recognize TWU graduates.

“This is a significant change to the context in which I made my original decision,” Virk said in a brief statement. “Once the legal issues are resolved, TWU will have the option to renew its request for consent.”

In December 2013, the Federation of Law Societies announced after careful consideration it found “no public interest reason” not to license TWU graduates to practice law. Virk’s decision came the following day, but the last year has included intense lobbying and a lawsuit from homosexual activists, who claim Trinity Western is discriminatory because it requires students to abstain from sex outside of traditional marriage.

Bob Kuhn, Trinity Western’s president, expressed disappointment in Virk’s revocation and said it’s hard to “conceive of a justifiable basis” for it. He said TWU does not want to engage in a legal battle, but it remains committed to opening a law school: “There are such important rights and freedoms at stake that we may have no choice but to seek protection of them in court.”

Kuhn was a lead litigator for TWU when it previously had to go to court to open a new education program. Opponents said the school's position on marriage would produce bigoted graduates, but in 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada disagreed, ruling the British Columbia College of Teachers couldn’t bar TWU from starting an accredited teaching program.

Since then, Canada legalized gay marriage in 2005 and codified the right to hold differing opinions on the issue. The law says, “No person or organization shall be deprived of any benefit, or be subject to any obligation or sanction,” based solely on objections to same-sex marriage or “the expression of their beliefs in respect of marriage as the union of a man and woman to the exclusion of all others.”

Guy Saffold, a TWU spokesman, told me Virk offered the university an expedited approval process once the legal issues are settled. Saffold said TWU is confident it will prevail based on precedents and existing law.

“Our contention here is we very much believe in the diversity of a pluralistic society in Canada,” he said. “We don’t increase diversity by depriving some people of the right to practice their beliefs.”

Trinity Western already has two lawsuits pending after the law societies in Nova Scotia and Ontario voted not to recognize the law school’s graduates. It is considering action against the Law Society of British Columbia, which initially granted approval before reversing course in October.

Advocates believe the Trinity Western case is a bellwether for religious freedom in North America.