Specifically, Justice Rothstein will be addressing religious pluralism and the rule of law in Canada during an event at The Redwoods Golf Course on May 5.

Trinity Western University (TWU) is hosting the B.C. Political Studies Association (BCPSA) convention, Politics in Transformation, next week in Langley.

The two-day event features Rothstein’s lecture and a dinner Thursday, explained organizing professor Paul Rowe, chair of the political studies faculty at TWU.

“Based on the research interests of the Religion, Culture and Conflict Research Group at TWU, we asked him to come and share something about case law regarding the role of religion in a pluralistic society such as Canada,” Rowe told the Langley Advance.

“He has agreed to discuss the matter based on case law precedents. Canada is obviously a pluralistic society. When pluralism is reflected in many different religious views, it is sometimes the role of the courts to arbitrate how to balance the various interests involved,” he elaborated.

Justice Rothstein will be exploring how this has been done by the courts in the past.

“As a judge, he is not able to take a public stance on policy. Instead, he is able to share a little about Canada’s heritage in cases that impinge upon religious freedom, such as situations where laws were deemed to violate religious freedom, where religious freedom has had an impact upon employment, where freedom of religion and the family intersect, where the constitution mandates special privileges for Protestant and Catholic school systems, where religion is used in public debate, and where it has been treated as a matter of reasonable accommodation,” Rowe said.

“His comments will help us to understand the way he sees the law applying in this area, but they won’t be in the vein of saying how things should be, which he would view as being in the domain of politics.”

Rothstein, called to the bar in 1966 and appointed to the trial division of the Federal Court of Canada on in 1992, elevated to the Federal Court of Appeal in 1999, and, finally, to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2006.

His lecture is open to the public, and the $40 tickets (which include a buffet dinner) area available from Jayne at jayne.cummins@twu.ca, or by phone at 604-513-2169.

There are two guest lectures during the convention that are open to the public, the second is a presentation by Joel S. Migdal, a professor and founding chair of international studies from the University of Washington, who will be speaking at the university the next day, Friday, May 6.

Among his books are Peasants, Politics, and Revolution; Palestinian Society and Politics; Strong Societies and Weak States; State in Society; Through the Lens of Israel; The Palestinian People: A History (with Baruch Kimmerling); and, Boundaries and Belonging.

This event is being held at the Freedom Hall in the Robert N. Thompson building at TWU, starting at 1:30 p.m. Admission is by a suggested $5 donation.

The conference is an annual event that draws political scientists and like-minded researchers from across the province and beyond.

They have more than 20 presenters from all over Canada and some from the United States presenting on an array of themes this year.

The BCPSA was originally founded several years ago to coincide with the annual articulation meetings mandated by the provincial government.

Universities take turns hosting the event.

Last year’s was at the University of Victoria. This year, it is at Trinity Western University, and next year it is scheduled to be held at UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College in Kelowna.

The conference’s general purpose, Rowe said, is to encourage political research in British Columbia.

The themes and discussions are rooted in political science but are otherwise eclectic.

“We will have people presenting on public policy, political philosophy, foreign policy, and politics worldwide,” Rowe said, explaining that TWU’s RCCRG is an interdisciplinary group of scholars interested in a wide range of questions about the interaction of religion with the culture, with politics, and with the problem of conflict in multiple forms.