Panel discussion on the Trinity Western University Appeals

On November 30th and December 1st 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear two appeals involving Trinity Western University (TWU), a private Christian university in British Columbia wishing to open a new law school.  The appeals involve legal challenges to decisions by the law societies of British Columbia and Ontario and the impact of a policy that requires TWU students to sign a code of conduct forbidding sexual intimacy outside heterosexual marriage. Ontario decided to deny the accreditation of TWU law graduates in the future, while BC approved accreditation. The cases are expected to “break new constitutional ground” around how administrative decision-makers are to balance the competing Charter rights of equality and freedom of religion.

The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, Out in Law, The Journal of Law and Equality and the Dean’s Emerging Issues Workshop Series are delighted to jointly present a panel discussion on November 23, 2017 at 12h30 to consider and analyse some of the main issues that will be covered in these appeals, including the administrative law matters, the balancing of competing rights and the unique circumstances involving the involvement of public interest interveners at the Supreme Court.