ST. ANDREWS, N.B. -- The New Brunswick Law Society has voted to accredit a controversial law school proposed in British Columbia.
Trinity Western, a privately funded university with about 4,000 students in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, plans to open a law school in the fall of 2016, but it has faced resistance over its so-called community covenant, which all students are required to sign.
The covenant includes a pledge not to engage in sex outside of marriage -- defined in the document as between a man and a woman.
In announcing the decision, New Brunswick Law Society President John Malone said the council will always recognize both religious freedoms and the right to sexual orientation without discrimination.
Earlier this month, lawyers in British Columbia objected to the university's plans to open a law school.
In April, the Law Society of Upper Canada's board of directors voted not to accredit graduates from the school, while the council of Nova Scotia's law society voted not to accredit graduates unless the school either exempts law students from its covenant or removes the offending passage from the document.
The school has launched legal challenges of the decisions in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
