Ontario court upholds decision denying accreditation to Christian law school

July 03, 2015

Ontario’s Supreme Court has upheld a decision to deny accreditation to a Christian law school that requires students to abstain from sexual activity outside traditional marriage.

The court ruled that Trinity Western University was discriminating against homosexual students, who would be forced to “essentially bury a crucial component of their identity” in order to comply with the school’s policy. Thus the court said that the school’s religious principles must yield in order to provide equal opportunity for homosexual students.

A spokesman for Trinity Western said that the school would appeal the ruling, saying that the court’s decision “points a knife at the freedom of faith communities across Canada to hold and practice their beliefs.”

In January, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruled that graduates of Trinity Western should be admitted to practice law in that province, overturning a decision by the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.

 

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Further information:

• Ontario law society’s decision to refuse Trinity Western accreditation upheld (Globe and Mail)
• Canadian court backs Christian law school in homosexuality dispute (CWN, 1/30)