Would a faith-based law school create anti-gay lawyers?

A private Christian university in B.C.'s Fraser Valley hoping to open Canada's first faith-based law school is being criticized for its opposition to same-sex relationships.

The proposal by Trinity Western University(TWU), whichoffers a three-year law program that accepts 60 students a year starting in September 2015,has just been given preliminary approval by theFederation of Law Societies.

Butcritics are concerned over theTWU Community Covenant Agreementall students have to sign, whichcontains a clause requiringabstinencefrom "sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman."

If a student fails to comply with the agreement after signing it, the university "reserves the right to discipline, dismiss, or refuse a students re-admission to the University," according to the handbook.

Justin Trottieratthe Centre For Inquiry Canada is worried the university's religious views wouldmeanthe new law school would be a lesswelcoming environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered(LGBT) students and would end up producinglawyers with an anti-gay bias.

"I'm deeply concerned because I think it is discrimination," said Trottier, who says thelaw school shouldproduce lawyers sensitive to Canadian legal values, which embraces gay marriage.

"If they [the university] do get accredited, I think it's very important that this does go to court."

Students send letter protests

In Marchthis year,more than a thousand students from eight Canadian law schools signed letters protesting the efforts by TWU, claimingthe university's policies discriminate against the LGBT community.

The letter petition askedthe Federation of Law Societiesand the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology to reject the accreditation of the university's proposed law school.

In a statement responding to the petition at the time, TWU said the proposal was "rigorously researched and developed" after consulting with legal experts.

"While we value and respect differing views, we trust that a faith-based community still has the religious freedom in Canada to maintain its beliefs and participate fully in society," the statement said.

"Our proposal is for a School of Law that emphasizes professionalism, competence, high ethical standards and leadership,"JanetEppBuckingham and KevinSawatsky, two faculty members who drafted the law school proposal, told CBC News in a joint email response at the time.

"The faith component adds a unique dimension to legal education."

The next step of the approval process rests with the B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology,which is now reviewing the proposal.