Translating the Conflict over Trinity Western University's Proposed Law School

In early 2017, Trinity Western University (TWU) received leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in its ongoing battle for its law school’s accreditation by the Law Societies of British Columbia (LSBC) and Upper Canada (LSUC). These appeals will mark the conclusion of a legal dispute encompassing broad, fundamental questions concerning the appropriate balancing of rights to freedom of religion with the protection of equality rights within the context of the Law Societies’ statutory mandates to act in the public interest. The author contrasts TWU’s Evangelical perspective which views individual religious beliefs as fundamentally intertwined with the public good, necessitating the public expression of these beliefs with the courts’ commonly held view that religious views may be present in public, as long as they are kept private. Major highlights the tensions and ambiguous arguments in these decisions to offer a critique of the perception of the law as objective truth, and to emphasize the significant role that social context plays in the development of rights jurisprudence. Ultimately, the author advocates for the use of the law as a means of “translating” these differences, allowing the parties to resolve ambiguities and ultimately find common ground. In a novel analytical approach to this controversial litigation, the author frames TWU and the Law Societies as members of a shared community and suggests that it is most helpful to view the relationship between these actors as being rooted in friendship, rather than competition. Despite their seemingly irreconcilable legal positions, the author advocates for the issue of accreditation to be resolved through dialogue and mutual consideration.

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