Nova Scotia Appeals Court Overturns Refusal To Recognize Christian Law School's Graduates

In Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society v. Trinity Western University, (NS Ct., App., July 26, 2016), the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, without reaching religious liberty claims, held that the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society exceeded its authority in adopting a regulation that effectively barred graduates of a Christian law school based in British Columbia from being admitted to the bar in Nova Scotia by refusing to allow them to article there.  At issue was Trinity Western University's "community covenant" that requires students and faculty to abide by various Biblical teachings, including a ban on sexual intimacy outside of heterosexual marriage.  The Barristers' Society passed a resolution refusing to recognize Trinity Western's degrees because the community covenant is discriminatory.  The Society subsequently amended its regulations to allow non-recognition of law schools that unlawfully discriminate on grounds prohibited by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. The court said:

It is inconceivable that the Legislature, without expressing a supportive word in either the Legal Profession Act or the Human Rights Act, intended that the Society’s Council could assert for itself an autonomous jurisdiction concurrent with that of a human rights board of inquiry.

The court went on to conclude that even if the Society's regulation had been properly adopted, Trinity Western did not violate Nova Scotia's Human Rights Act since all its activities occurred in British Columbia, and Trinity Western is not subject to the Charter of Rights because it is a private university. ADF issued a press release announcing the decision, and The Globe and Mail reports on it.

Canadian Court Says Charter Does Not Protect Proselytizing In Primary School During School Hours

In Bonitto v. Halifax Regional School Board, (NS Ct. App., Aug. 26, 2015), the Nova Scotia (Canada) Court of Appeal rejected the claim by Sean Bonitto, a fundamentalist Christian parent of school children, that Secs. 2(a) and (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect his right to hand out religious literature during school hours to elementary school students.  He sought to distribute his literature in a school in which 25% of the students were Muslim.  The court said in part:

Mr. Bonitto’s model envisages a theological midway with rivals beckoning nine year olds walking to their classrooms. The Minister, Board and school would have no control over the messages. That would contradict a basic premise of public schooling under the Education Act – i.e. on school premises during school hours, the inculcated message must pertain to the approved scholastic program.

Mr. Bonitto’s message is that non-Christians will burn in a sea of flames for eternity. The Board’s witnesses held the view that elementary students, especially non-Christians, hearing this on the steps would entertain an unsettling distraction from their classwork. The message would undermine the “orderly and safe learning environment” and the “positive and inclusive school climate” proclaimed by the preamble to the Education Act. That view makes good sense to me.

CBC News reports on the decision.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Trinity Western Law School

In Trinity Western University v. Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, (NS SC, Jan. 28, 2015), the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, in a 138-page opinion, held that the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society exceeded its authority when it refused to recognize law degrees of Trinity Western University Law School so long as the Christian school's policy continues to prohibit students from engaging in sexual relations outside of traditional heterosexual marriage. According to the Court, the Society has the authority to deal with the education and qualifications of those who practice law in the province. Its action here however dealt with a University policy that does not affect the quality of its graduates.

The Court went on to hold that even if the Society had authority to refuse to recognize TWU's law degrees, it did not exercise the authority in a way that reasonably respects religious liberty and freedom of conscience:

People have the right to attend a private religious university that imposes a religiously based code of conduct. That is the case even if the effect of that code is to exclude others or offend others who will not or cannot comply with the code of conduct. Learning in an environment with people who promise to comply with the code is a religious practice and an expression of religious faith. There is nothing illegal or even rogue about that. That is a messy and uncomfortable fact of life in a pluralistic society. Requiring a person to give up that right in order to get his or her professional education recognized is an infringement of religious freedom.

The Halifax Herald News reports on the decision.