VANCOUVER, BC, Jan 5 (LifeSiteNews.com) In a ruling handed down last Wednesday, the BC Court of Appeals rejected an appeal brought by the BC College of Teachers against Trinity Western University (TWU). The college attempted to thwart the university’s attempt to set up a new program that would enable them to provide full training for teachers because, arguing that graduates of TWU would not be broad-minded enough to deal with the public school environment.
According to court documents the College objected to TWU’s Christian “world view” and also accused the university of “discriminatory practices” in regards to homosexuality. In fact, the controversy stemmed from the BCCT’s criticism of the university’s code of conduct disallowing homosexual behaviour by students while attending the institution. The College said that allowing TWU a teaching program was “contrary to the public interest” since it is “a private institution which appears to follow discriminatory practices that public institutions are, by law, not allowed to follow.”
The judges ruled two to three in favour of Trinity Western and ordered the College to approve their application for a new teaching program. The Catholic Civil Rights League intervened in the case on behalf of TWU.
Commenting on the decision, Linda Rasmussen of the Canada Family Action Coalition-BC said, “The Court has upheld the right of a person to hold religious values and not be discriminated against in the workplace. As educators it is worrisome that the BCCT has demonstrated a lack of tolerance and acceptance towards those with different views.”
See the full details on the case.