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Vegan Firefighter Loses Bid To Protect Ethical Vegans From Discrimination
(plantbasednews.org)
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I gotta side with him on this one. While his is a lifestyle choice, some people do have special dietary needs. If you want people to work in these types of conditions you have to take their needs into consideration.
Some people have medical or religious dietary restrictions. I think the employer would have to accommodate those. Ethical restrictions is a grey area.
But why are ethical restrictions any less valid than religious dietary restrictions?
He argued that veganism was protected as a "creed". The Ontario Human Rights Code considers 5 factors in determining whether a belief system constitutes a creed. Under that code, a "creed":
Veganism clearly meets 1, 2, and 5, but I'm not quite seeing 3 or 4.
I think you could probably argue that ethical veganism is a deeply held belief that humans are not inherently superior to other animals, and that said animals also have emotions, etc.
This would address 3 as it would definitely govern one's conduct and practices: not exploiting animals in any way.
I would also argue that it addresses ultimate questions about human's place in the living world, partially addressing 4.
Also, looking at federal law (https://www.justice.gc.ca/fra/sjc-csj/dlc-rfc/ccdl-ccrf/check/art2a.html), looks like "liberté de conscience et de religion" should be interpreted widely:
So Ontario's interpretation here is potentially unconstitutional, especially if their decision hinges on something as minor as what a belief system has to say about a Creator.
EDIT: Not a vegan at all, but I can understand the ethics.