In a surprising and troubling decision, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario has ruled against Adam Knauff, a firefighter who made global headlines for filing a legal case after he faced discrimination for being vegan. The case raised a novel issue—whether a vegan belief system counts as a “creed”, a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Mr. Knauff plans to appeal the decision by seeking judicial review in the Divisional Court of Ontario.
Creed doesn’t necessarily equal a religion. A creed is a set of sincerely held beliefs one uses to guide their actions, it just typically takes the form of a religious creed, but non religious people can have their own creed. Believing that factory meat is horrible and therefore you’re vegan or vegetarian is a creed in my book. It’s a sincerely held belief (factory farms are horrible) that guides decisions (don’t eat meat)