OTTAWA, Nov 13 (LSN.ca) - In a court case that could lead to overt legal discrimination against Christians in Canada, two Supreme Court Justices blasted Christianity as discriminatory and intolerant. On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Trinity Western case. The case concerns the refusal by the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT) to approve the teacher education program at Trinity Western University because the Christian school’s code of conduct requires students and teachers to refrain from homosexual sex as well other sinful actions. Two lower court decisions have ordered the BCCT to accredit the university’s program, but the Supreme Court suspended those decisions by granting a hearing.
During the hearing, feminist-activist Justice Claire L’Heureux-Dube was quoted in the National Post as saying, “‘We have all this love stuff,’ but if Trinity’s code stated that blacks were inferior to whites, or that Jews should be killed, would its teachers still be fit for public schools?” And when the universities defenders said evidence of discrimination must be found among teachers who have graduated from the program, Judge Dube said, “Evidence [of discrimination] is in the [Trinity] program. What kind of other evidence do you want?” Dube is a known homosexual activist, having spoken at homosexual conferences in favour of legal recognition of homosexuals living together. “In failing to recognize and support partnerships, traditional and otherwise, are we not doing violence to the fabric of our community?” asked L’Heureux-Dube in her keynote talk given October 20 last year.
The Post also quotes Justice Ian Binnie as saying, “It’s all very well to say, ‘love the sinner but hate the sin,’ But is that not a contradiction in terms? While the religious may preach tolerance, religion is often an engine of intolerance.” Reacting to the comments, Bishop J. Edward Troy of Saint John, Rothesay, N.B. wrote, “If the learned Justice is unable to comprehend this elementary familiar distinction, what is he doing on the highest court in our land?”
For the evidence of bias on Justice Dube see: http://lifesite.net/interim/1999/may/11real.html http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/1999/april/990409b.html
For the Post’s coverage of the quotes in court see: http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20001110/364301.html
For Bishop’s Troy’s comments see: http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?f=/stories/20001113/367821.html
For background on the TWU case see: http://lsn.ca/ldn/1999/jan/990105.html#1 http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/1999/dec/991210.html#4