Pride Celebrates Equality Over Exclusion, Op-Ed

NOTE: The following is an op-ed piece by Tracey Williams, director and CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.

As Nova Scotians come together to celebrate the 27th Annual Halifax Pride Festival, we see what equality means to those who have experienced discrimination on the basis of difference.

Pride asks us to see that what we have in common matters most. After all, our unique cultural differences are nested in a common humanity. When common humanity is lost, we begin to judge some as "other" and somehow less relatable to us as people. Yet, coming to know the differences between our communities provides the innovation and diversity that enable us to thrive.

Pride events across Nova Scotia celebrate our common humanity and its resilience, and celebrate the joy of cultural uniqueness as strength. Dignity and respect deepen as we take time to build relationships with those who we think are different, overcoming the "othering" and judging that comprise human rights harms.

In recent months, there's been some reporting about Trinity Western University, the debate around religious expression, human rights, and the legal arguments of each side. Based in Langley, B.C., the school's Community Covenant requires all students, administrators, and faculty to abstain from "sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman."

The move by the Nova Scotia Barrister's Society to reject the validity of Trinity Western's proposed law school recognized a concern, shared by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, that LGBTI students will experience a profound chill to attend this university.

This case challenges the structure of Canadian society at a core level - the separation of church and state. This is perhaps the most important democratic, Charter or human rights issue to face us in thirty years. Nova Scotia and many other parts of Canada have evolved in a way that considers the secular state must remain religiously neutral so all people have the same access to services.

The fact that we balance rights, rather than take away rights to resolve these issues, is quintessentially Canadian. In this case, the right of expression of a "religious world view" in law school training is balanced against the rights of full participation of the LGBTI community in society.

As the legal conversation continues over the Trinity Western issue, we have an opportunity to look for the common humanity in each other on both sides of the debate, appreciate its complexity, and continue to build relationships with one another.