VANCOUVER - The governing members of the Law Society of British Columbia have voted in favour of holding a binding referendum to determine whether a Christian university's law school should be accredited.
The decision, in a 20 to 10 vote by the society's governors, came after a divisive and emotional three-hour hearing Friday over Trinity Western University's controversial policy against sex outside heterosexual marriage.
The mail-in referendum is to be held as soon as possible next month and follows a non-binding decision by B.C. lawyers in June to reject the Langley, B.C., university's plans to open a law school in the fall of 2016.
Those who favoured the referendum said it would be the most democratic and transparent way for lawyers across the province to express their views because many were unable to vote in person in June.
However, others said the issue will be decided by the courts and has already been hashed out, with B.C. lawyers voting 3,210 to 968 in favour of a motion calling on the society's governing body to reject the school.
Law societies in Ontario and Nova Scotia have voted against accrediting law students from Trinity, and the university has launched legal challenges of those decisions.
