Canadian high court rules against Christian law school

The Canadian Supreme Court severely limited religious liberty in the country on Friday when it ruled against a Christian university trying to open a law school. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled regional law societies had a right to block accreditation for the school over objections to its community covenant, which requires students and faculty to abstain from sex outside heterosexual marriage. “In our respectful view, the [law societies] decision not to accredit Trinity Western University’s proposed law school represents a proportionate balance between the limitation on the Charter right at issue and the statutory objectives the [law societies] sought to pursue,” the opinion reads.

Leaders of the Law Society of British Columbia initially said the group would recognize the school’s graduates but reversed course after a majority of its members objected. Lawyers in Ontario took a similar stance, while societies in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, the Yukon, and Nova Scotia agreed to recognize the graduates. The country’s regional appeals courts split over the question, sending the case to the high court last year.