Human Rights Tribunal in Ontario, Canada Considers Veganism

I am honoured to have been called on to provide information and give evidence at the Human Rights Tribunal in Ontario, Canada today.

The case concerns firefighter Adam Knauff, who first contacted The International Vegan Rights Alliance five years ago to explain his grievance that his employer had not provided for his ethical vegan dietary needs while he was fighting forest fires. Mr Knauff was connected with network lawyers in Canada so that he could receive appropriate support and legal advice.

To qualify as a “creed” under the Ontario Human rights Code, an applicant must show that their belief meets a number of criteria. These criteria include that the belief is sincerely, freely, and deeply held; is a particular, comprehensive, and overarching system of belief that governs one’s conduct and practices; and that it addresses ultimate questions of human existence, including ideas about life, purpose, death, and the existence or non-existence of a creator and/or a higher or different order of existence.

I am pleased to have been able to provide a substantial number of materials to support the case and a witness statement that explains my view of how ethical veganism meets the legal test that applies to the status of creed in Canada.

In my mind there is no doubt that ethical veganism meets the legal test for creed in Ontario. Veganism has been recognised in the European system of human rights since 1993, and following the creation of the International Vegan Rights Alliance in 2012, the campaign for the legal recognition of vegans in different jurisdictions has gained traction. In addition to being recognised under the European Convention on Human Rights, ethical veganism is now also recognised as being protected under the constitutions of Germany and Italy and is a protected characteristic for the purposes of British equality law.

The Tribunal will now consider whether a belief in ethical veganism can be protected in law as a “creed”.

 

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