STUDENTS' LAW SOCIETY

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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW

Legal & Literary Society Osgoode Hall Law School York University www.legalandlit.ca ACLSS University of Ottawa Faculty of Law www.aeeclss.org Students' Law Society University of Windsor Faculty of Law www.uwindsor.ca/sls Students' Law Society University of Toronto Faculty of Law studentslawsociety.wordpress.com

January 16, 2014

Law Society of Upper Canada 130 Queen Street West Toronto, ON M5H 2N6

Dear Treasurer and Members of Convocation: We are writing on behalf of the student governments at four of Ontarios law schools. Collectively, our organizations represent approximately 4,500 future members of the legal profession. Prompting this letter is Trinity Western Universitys (TWUs) application to launch a law degree program recognized for admission to the bar of the Province of Ontario. The accreditation process falls within the statutory authority of the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC). As you are likely aware, a number of stakeholders have expressed their concerns with TWUs proposed law school. Most of these concerns relate to TWUs Community Covenant Agreement, which requires students to abstain from sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a 1 woman. Students who do not comply with the agreement may be removed from the university without 2 3 4 readmission. The Canadian Council of Law Deans, the Ontario Bar Association, the Canadian 5 6 Federation of Students, numerous prominent lawyers, and hundreds of law students have raised concerns related to the compatibility of this covenant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and provincial human rights legislation. Specifically, it has been argued that TWU's law schools policies discriminate against LGBTQ students by constraining the number of law school places available to them, and that TWU is not an appropriate venue for teaching constitutional law, legal ethics, or promoting academic freedom. We are not as ideally positioned as other groups to comment on these issues, and will refrain from doing so. However, we would like to take this opportunity to raise three views related to TWUs proposed law school that have arisen among the constituencies we represent.

Trinity Western University Community Covenant Agreement at page 3, available online: <http://twu.ca/studenthandbook/twu-community-covenant-agreement.pdf> 2 Trinity Western University Student Handbook, Student Accountability Process, available online: <http://twu.ca/studenthandbook/university-policies/student-accountability-process.html> 3 Canadian Council of Law Deans Letter to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, November 20, 2012, available online: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/156263670/CCLD-Letter-to-FLSC> 4 Canadian Bar Association Letter to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, March 18, 2013, available online: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/156265274/CBA-Letter-to-FLSC> 5 Canadian Federation of Students Letter to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, December 19, 2013, available online: <http://cfs-fcee.ca/open-letter-reconsider-approval-of-law-school-at-trinity-western-university/> 6 Osgoode Hall Law School Students Letter to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, March 18, 2013, available online: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/156265623/Letter-from-Osgoode-Law-Students-to-the-FLSC>; Media Release from Canadian Law Students, March 18, 2013, available online: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/156265623/Letter-fromOsgoode-Law-Students-to-the-FLSC>

First, in the wake of the Federation of Law Societies of Canadas (FLSCs) recommendation for approval of the TWU program, we would like to ask LSUC to fully consider the points of view of all stakeholders that have engaged this issue. We urge the law society to ensure that concerns for diversity, antidiscrimination, representativeness in the classroom, and access to the legal profession figure largely in its deliberations. Access to justice bears significant links with improved access to legal education for minority groups. In recent years, law schools have taken tremendous strides to improve the accessibility, representativeness, and practicality of legal education. We would like to see the leadership of the profession demonstrate the same interests and reach a balanced conclusion on this issue. As future lawyers, our peers are committed to equality and promoting the values of the Charter within their practices. We believe that our colleagues from new law schools should be exposed to a learning environment consistent with this objective. We trust that any determination by LSUC will respect the law society's own Charter obligations. Second, for many aspiring lawyers, it is important that the law societys decision reflect the job market realities facing new law school graduates. This issue has been acknowledged by LSUC, regardless of how effectively it has been mitigated. Approving new law school cohorts will further dilute the job prospects for new graduates, and today's graduates carry historically high levels of debt due to the cost of law school tuition. Many students feel that the current shortage of articling places for new graduates justifies some restraint in the accreditation of new programs of study for admission to the Ontario bar. Disregarding this issue would be inconsistent with prior LSUC intentions. Finally, we hope that the significant level of student engagement on the TWU issue will encourage further consultations with students and the youth of the profession. Many in our community are frustrated by what they perceive as the law society's disinterest in student views on issues which bear direct financial, equality, or other consequences for current and future law students. For instance, LSUCs recent announcement of Law Practice Program (LPP) as an alternative to articling is contrary to the input of student groups, and may yet have a detrimental impact on the economics of articling and cost of legal education. We are interested in hearing how the input of student organizations has factored into the TWU discussion at the law society, as the FLSC review was notably opaque. In closing, thank you for your attention to this important issue. Should you have any questions, or if you wish to correspond with us as a group, please email legalandlitvpi@osgoode.yorku.ca. We look forward to a balanced and progressive outcome on the TWU law school issue that gives primacy to the concerns of the Ontario professions youth, its aspiring members, and those looking to pursue a legal career. Sincerely,

Philip Cumbo JD Candidate (2014) President Students' Law Society University of Windsor Faculty of Law slsp@uwindsor.ca

Sherif Rizk JD Candidate (2014) Prsident / President Association des tudiants et tudiantes de Common Law Student Society (ACLSS) Universit d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa president.aeeclss@uottawa.ca

Dylan McGuinty JD Candidate (2014) President, on behalf of the Executive of Legal and Literary Society Osgoode Hall Law School, York University legalandlitprez@osgoode.yorku.ca

Brendan Stevens JD Candidate (2014) President Students' Law Society University of Toronto Faculty of Law brendan.john.stevens@gmail.com
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Jeff Mitchell JD Candidate (2014) Chair, on behalf of the Members of Student Caucus of Faculty Council Osgoode Hall Law School, York University studentcaucus@osgoode.yorku.ca /dj
c. Lorne Sossin, Dean, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Ignat Kaneff Building, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3; lawdean@osgoode.yorku.ca Mayo Moran, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, 84 Queen's Park, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C5; mayo.moran@utoronto.ca Camille Cameron, Dean of Law, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4; ccameron@uwindsor.ca Nathalie Des Rosier, Dean, Common Law Section, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Fauteux Hall, 57 Louis Pasteur Street, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5; nathalie.desrosiers@uOttawa.ca Fred W. Headon, President, Canadian Bar Association, 500-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5S8; president@cba.org Pascale Daigneault, President, Ontario Bar Association, 20 Toronto Street, Suite 300, Toronto, ON, M5C 2B8; president@oba.org Thomas G. Conway, Law Society Treasurer, Law Society of Upper Canada, Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M5H 2N6; tconway@cavanagh.ca Bill Flanagan, President, Canadian Council of Law Deans, 57 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, ON, K1N 5N5; w.flanagan@queensu.ca The Honourable Amrik Virk, Minister of Advanced Education (British Columbia), Room 133, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC, V8V 1X4; aved.minister@gov.bc.ca The Honourable Brad Duguid, Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities (Ontario), 3rd Floor, Mowat Block, 900 Bay St., Toronto, ON M7A 1L2; bduguid.mpp@liberal.ola.org Paul Jonathan Saguil, Chair, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Conference, Ontario Bar Association, 20 Toronto Street, Suite 300, Toronto, ON, M5C 2B8; paul.jonathan.saguil@gmail.com Robert A. Peterson, Co-Chair, Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Conference, Canadian Bar Association, 500-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5S8; robert.peterson@govlaw.ca