Trinity Western University鈥檚 controversial Community Covenant will be voluntary for all students starting this fall, the 91原创-based school鈥檚 board of governors has decided.
鈥淚n furtherance of our desire to maintain TWU as a thriving community of Christian believers that is inclusive of all students wishing to learn from a Christian viewpoint and underlying philosophy,鈥� said a statement released by the board of governors, 鈥渢he Community Covenant will no longer be mandatory as of the 2018-19 academic year with respect to admission of students to, or continuation of students at, the university.鈥�
The vote was made Thursday, and could open the way for the Christian university to establish a law school 鈥� though that isn鈥檛 a priority right now, said TWU president Bob Kuhn.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been no decision made with respect to the law school,鈥� Kuhn said.
It鈥檚 been six years since TWU started the process, and nothing鈥檚 happened due to the court challenges. Now the university has other major projects on its plate.
The law school project hasn鈥檛 been completely abandoned, and Kuhn said he believes the change to the Covenant will clarify the issues surrounding it.
The Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling was a factor, but not the only one involved in the board of governors鈥� decision, said Kuhn.
The statement said the school will continue to be Biblically-based and committed to evangelical Christian principles.
The Community Covenant will still apply to faculty and staff at the school, Kuhn confirmed.
In June, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against TWU and in favour of the law societies of B.C. and Ontario, ending a lengthy battle over whether or not TWU had the right to operate a law school.
The Community Covenant includes a section that prohibits sexual intimacy outside of heterosexual marriage.
The law societies withheld the right of the university to certify new graduates, with the Community Covenant at the center of legal arguments.
The case pitted the rights of potential LGBTQ students, or potentially even students in common-law relationships, against the religious freedom of the independent university.
The majority of judges found that the Law Society of B.C. (LSBC) has 鈥渁n overarching interest in protecting the values of equality and human rights.鈥�
The judges also found that eliminating barriers to legal education would improve the quality of the legal profession.
The case was one of 鈥渙verlapping charter protections,鈥� with rights of religious freedom and civil rights weighed.
The court鈥檚 decision suggested that if TWU鈥檚 Community Covenant was not mandatory, the law school might have gone ahead.
鈥淚ndeed, when the LSBC asked TWU whether it would 鈥榗onsider鈥� amendments to its Covenant, TWU expressed no willingness to compromise on the mandatory nature of the Covenant,鈥� the majority wrote. 鈥淭he decision therefore only prevents TWU鈥檚 community members from attending an approved law school at TWU that is governed by a mandatory covenant.鈥�
Shortly after the ruling, Earl Phillips, executive director of TWU鈥檚 law school project, said the university was 鈥渓ooking at possible ways of moving forward鈥� and didn鈥檛 rule out changes to the Community Covenant.
