{"id":774346,"date":"2023-12-12T07:16:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T12:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=774346"},"modified":"2023-12-12T07:49:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T12:49:20","slug":"human-wrongs-tribunal-of-ontario-rejects-protections-for-ethical-vegans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=774346","title":{"rendered":"EDEN WAS VEGAN: Human Wrongs Tribunal of Ontario rejects protections for ethical vegans"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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The Ontario Tribunal failed to protect ethical vegans from discrimination because their belief system is not centered around the existence of a \u2018creator\u2019 or a 'higher order' of existence. Ethical veganism is a comprehensive belief system based on compassion and respect for all animals. People who want to act compassionately don\u2019t deserve to be fired, shunned, or otherwise belittled.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

CAMILLE LABCHUK:<\/strong> In a surprising and troubling decision, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ruled against Adam Knauff, a firefighter who sought protection against discrimination for being an ethical vegan. The case raised a novel issue\u2014whether a vegan belief system counts as a \u201ccreed\u201d, a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Mr. Knauff plans to seek review of the decision in Divisional Court.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2015, the Ontario Human Rights Commission revised its policy on preventing creed-based discrimination to extend greater protections for people with non-religious belief systems. According to the Commission, \u201cCreed may also include non-religious belief systems that, like religion, substantially influence a person\u2019s identity, worldview and way of life”…<\/em><\/p>\n

The Tribunal decision accepted that creed includes non-religious belief systems, yet still rejected ethical veganism as a form of creed because it \u201cdoes not address the existence or non-existence of a Creator and\/or a higher order of existence\u201d…<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Knauff is a veteran of Ontario\u2019s provincial forest firefighting force, and has been vegan for over 25 years to avoid harming animals. He sued his employer after being denied appropriate food while he worked in BC in 2017 to fight wildfires. Despite working long hours in physically demanding conditions, Mr. Knauff faced a severe lack of vegan food in the basecamp where he was stationed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Knauff was frequently served meals that contained meat or dairy products, which he cannot eat; meals that were nutritionally inadequate and contained no source of protein; and was sometimes given no food at all. He repeatedly attempted to work with management to improve the situation, but it did not improve. After expressing his frustration that he could not eat, he was sent home, disciplined, and suspended without pay for a period of time. The adjudicator also rejected Mr. Knauff\u2019s claim of reprisal…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really disappointed with the outcome and will be seeking judicial review of the decision in the Divisional Court,\u201d said Wade Pozionmka, lawyer for Mr. Knauff. \u201cThis case is important, not just for ethical vegans, but for the ground of creed and the protections that will be afforded to other, important belief systems that are not directly connected to religion. Ethical vegans certainly are connected to a higher order belief system and that evidence was before the Tribunal in this case.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cEthical veganism is a comprehensive belief system based on compassion and respect for all animals,\u201d said lawyer Camille Labchuk, executive director of Animal Justice. \u201cIt is incredibly disappointing that the Tribunal failed to protect ethical vegans from discrimination simply because their belief system is not centred around the existence of a \u2018creator\u2019. People who want to act compassionately don\u2019t deserve to be fired, shunned, or otherwise belittled”. SOURCE…<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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