Experts on BC Law Society ratification vote

The following University of Victoria faculty members are available to comment on the BC Law Society’s ratification vote this morning to reject the proposed law school at Trinity Western University. Board members voted 25-to-one to ratify the results of the referendum announced yesterday. A total of 8,039 members of the Law Society cast valid ballots; 74 per cent voted in favour of reversing its earlier approval to recognize graduates of the law school.

Critics oppose the school’s accreditation because students must sign a Christian covenant that states sexual relations are to be confined within the bounds of a marriage between a man and a woman.

Professor Gillian Calder is a legal scholar in the area of constitutional law, equality and the law’s impact on understanding of the family. She recently wrote an article for The Advocate legal magazine on the internal debate taking place at UVic Law over the accreditation of the proposed law program at TWU. Professor Calder is available to speak during regular office hours (Office: 250-472-5247 or at gcalder@uvic.ca).

Professor Jeremy Webber (Dean of Law) is a law and society scholar in the areas of cultural diversity, constitutional theory and indigenous rights. He has written extensively on the balance between religion and equality, including a published op-ed on the issue of accreditation of TWU’s law program. Dean Webber is available to speak during regular office hours and on the weekend (Mobile: 250-686-2794 or at lawdean@uvic.ca).

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