#lsnb

On Saturday, September 13th members of the Law Society of New Brunswick (LSNB) were invited to attend a Special General Meeting (SGM). As with the BC SGM in June, this vote was to direct the benchers to reverse their decision on the accreditation of the TWU School of Law. 

New Brunswick benchers voted 14-5 in June to adopt the recommendation of the Federation of Law Societies to approve the new law school. They considered the the 2001 Supreme Court of Canada ruling in BCTF v TWU as well as two reports from the Federation and nearly 500 pages of submissions from the public and the profession. Immediately following their decision, a few lawyers began collecting signatures for a petition to hold an SGM. They received 229 signatures.

The results of the vote were 137-30. That means 167 members of a Law Society that has nearly 1600 members took part in the vote - not even everyone who petitioned to have the vote. The procedures for the vote included having to attend the meeting in person to vote. This was conducive to the success of the resolution because those wishing to reverse the decision were highly motivated to attend; those who accepted the benchers' decision had little motivation to vote.

Should 137 lawyers be able to overrule the Supreme Court of Canada?

Benchers in New Brunswick and BC did an admirable job in their assessment of both the proposal and the law. Thankfully they were willing to uphold the rule of law regardless of concerns over reelection. They knew the decision would not be popular but it was right. The Charter is enshrined with fundamental rights in recognition that minorities need protection from cultural shifts.  

Like in BC, the passed resolution is not binding so the question becomes what do the benchers do?

It is not clear that benchers can adopt a resolution (i.e. reverse their decision on accreditation) that would violate the law as they interpret it. According to an independent legal opinion commissioned by the Law Society of BC, if the benchers voted based on the law then it would be a breach of their statutory duties to reverse that decision. The benchers of both LSNB and LSBC meet next on September 26th to discuss how to move forward.

At a Special General Meeting of members of the Law Society of New Brunswick (LSNB), a resolution was passed asking the LSNB Council to reverse its June 27th decision approving a School of Law at Trinity Western University. The resolution passed on a vote of 137 to 30. There are approximately 1,600 members of the LSNB.  

It is surprising that this resolution would be passed, said TWU spokesperson Guy Saffold, Ed.D., because "as a private Christian based university, Trinity Western is open and welcoming to all. The resolution does not reflect Canada’s historic commitments to respect for diverse groups.” While the Council has determined that the resolution is not binding, Saffold said: "It is disappointing that a resolution would pass that would compromise Canada's commitment to freedoms of conscience, religion, belief, expression and association."

TWU School of Law Executive Director Earl Phillips, LLB, expressed appreciation for the lawyers who took the time to attend the meeting in Fredericton and who voted to affirm the Council’s approval of the School of Law. However, he also expressed concern with the resolution, “Difficult decisions involving fundamental rights and freedoms should not be decided by popular vote,” he said.

In June, the LSNB Council came to a conclusion, in a decisive vote of 14 to 5, after the thoughtful and considered expression of views and careful consideration of reports and submissions, and the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in Trinity Western University v. British Columbia College of Teachers2001 SCC 31.

“A person’s ability to study and practise law should not be questioned because of beliefs or faith commitments” said Phillips. “There is no evidence to suggest that the religious beliefs that guide TWU would affect the ability of its law graduates to serve all clients.”

Trinity Western's application to open a law school has already been approved by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and the BC Ministry of Advanced Education. The Law Societies of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, PEI, and Yukon are following the decision of the Federation.  

“Any move to marginalize the millions of Canadian citizens of diverse faiths who share a common understanding of marriage suggests development of a very dangerous trend,” said Saffold. “A just society protects the rights of all religions.”

Here are the developments since the update on August 1st: 

The Law Society of New Brunswick has sent out a notice that it will holding a Special General Meeting on September 13th. Like the BC process, members of the Law Society will vote on whether to direct the benchers (governors) to overturn their vote to accredit TWU law school graduates. After careful consideration and rigorous debate, the elected benchers approved the law school on June 27th by a vote of 14 to 5. 

The Law Society of the Northwest Territories will be making a decision on how to address accreditation on October 16th. Written submissions may be submitted to [email protected] by September 26th, 2014. A discussion paper produced by the Law Society can be read here.

The Law Society of British Columbia will be meeting on September 26 to vote on two resolutions regarding how to proceed following the June 10th vote. Submission can be made by email until September 3rd to [email protected]. More info can be found here.

TWU successfully applied to be a party in Loke v BC Minister of Advanced Education. In this case, Clayton Ruby and a BC student have filed for a judicial review of the BC government's approval of the law school. It is scheduled to be heard December 1-5, 2014.

Plans continue to move forward for the TWU School of Law to welcome its first class in September 2016.

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In this CBC interview from July 15th, President *Hélène L. Beaulieu, QC discusses the June 27th vote of the Law Society of New Brunswick (LSNB) in favour of accrediting graduates of the TWU School of Law. Following the vote, a petition began circulating in New Brunswick to overturn the Benchers' decision and hold a Special General Meeting (like BC), with lawyers claiming they were "asleep at the switch" and did not engage with the process. Like other law societies, the LSNB welcomed submissions from the public, and it received 96. 

President Beaulieu notes the need for a balancing of rights and that TWU was approved as meeting the national requirements according to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. Below are the two motions that were adopted on June 27th:

By a vote of 14 to 5:

Council accepts the report of the Federation Approval Committee, that, subject to the concerns and comments noted in the report, the TWU program will meet the national requirement and thereby approves the proposed law school at Trinity Western University pursuant to paragraph 22(3)(b) of the General Rules under the Law Society Act, 1996.

Unanimously:

THAT Council reconfirm that, regardless of educational background and personal beliefs, a member of the Law Society of New Brunswick, including a student-at-law, shall in all activities, professional and other, not discriminate against any person on grounds of age, colour, disability, gender, language, marital status, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, social condition and political belief or activity, and, in particular, shall respect the dignity and worth of all persons and shall treat all persons equally and without discrimination.