Out On Bay Street has filed its submissions with the Ontario Divisional Court, where it will be representing the interests of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students in Trinity Western University’s (TWU) legal challenge of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s decision not to accredit its proposed law school.
The Law Society’s decision not to accredit TWU’s proposed law school was based on public interest concerns arising from TWU’s Community Covenant Agreement. The Community Covenant Agreement prohibits sexual intimacy outside of heterosexual marriage, which discriminates against LGBTQ students.
Out On Bay Street is joined by the OUTlaws LGBTQ affinity groups from Osgoode Hall Law School (York University), and the law schools at the University of Toronto, Queen’s University, and the University of Windsor. Last year, both Out On Bay Street and the OUTlaws made submissions to the Law Society opposing TWU’s accreditation. The coalition of 5 student organizations was granted leave to intervene in September.
Hearings start on June 1 in Toronto. Out On Bay Street and the OUTlaws are represented by Marlys Edwardh, Vanessa Payne, and Frances Mahon of Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP, and Paul Jonathan Saguil, Chair of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity section (SOGIC) of the Ontario Bar Association.
Out On Bay Street is a registered non-profit organization that facilitates the professional development of LGBTQ students as they transition from school to career. The organization promotes inclusive, queer-friendly workplaces and professional communities, with a particular focus on law and business.
For more information, please contact:
Douglas Judson
Director, Board of Directors
Out On Bay Street
Phone: 416-628-3146
Email: douglas.judson@
Factum filed with the Divisional Court:
Click here or see attached for the Factum of the Interveners Out On Bay Street and OUTlaws (May 1, 2015)
Background materials:
Motion Record and Factum for Leave to Intervene (August 2014)
Out On Bay Street and OUTlaws submissions to the Law Society of Upper Canada (March 2014)