{"id":15866,"date":"2013-10-10T10:52:50","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T14:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/?p=15866"},"modified":"2021-10-07T12:13:06","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T16:13:06","slug":"the-word-creed-ontario-human-rights-creed-survey-ends-on-october-16-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/intersection\/2013\/10\/10\/the-word-creed-ontario-human-rights-creed-survey-ends-on-october-16-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Word \u201cCreed\u201d – Ontario Human Rights Creed Survey Ends on October 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you live in Ontario, you have less than seven days left to have your say on a matter that could, in future, have a serious impact on the ability of <\/span>Christian ministries<\/strong> to hire staff who share the beliefs of the ministry. Although it may seem innocuous at first, the <\/span>Ontario Human Rights Commission<\/strong> (OHRC) has undertaken a three year study of what the word \u201ccreed\u201d means as it pertains to the Ontario Human Rights Code. They have raised the possibility of redefining \u2018<\/span>creed<\/strong>,\u2019 which has always been defined in terms of religious belief, to include \u201cethical veganism,\u201d \u201cpacifism,\u201d and \u201chumanism.\u201d The larger concern, as previously announced, is that the OHRC have raised questions about whether Christian charities should be able to require any particular personal conduct of their employees outside of the work environment. You can have your say on this matter by going to the OHRC\u2019s survey at: <\/span>https:\/\/fluidsurveys.com\/surveys\/ohrc-3\/human-rights-and-creed-survey\/<\/a>. This survey will be taken down from the website on Wednesday, October 16, so now is the best time to fill it out \u2013 while you still have a chance. This is an important survey and it requires a careful response.<\/span><\/p>\n

Redefining \u201ccreed\u201d is not a course of action the OHRC should take because:<\/p>\n

1. Most importantly, redefining \u201ccreed\u201d to include non-religious beliefs will diminish the protection given to religious groups. In short, redefining \u201ccreed\u201d to include \u201cethical veganism,\u201d \u201cpacifism,\u201d \u201chumanism,\u201d and the like, caters to a very individualistic view of religious freedom and does not take into account the communal nature of religion.
\n2. There are other ways the OHRC can reach its objective in preventing discrimination on those other \u201cisms\u201d such as having the legislature create another ground of protection (for example, \u201cconscience\u201d) that would not require a redefinition of \u201ccreed;\u201d
\n3. Redefining a specific term in the Ontario Human Rights Code is the work of the democratically elected legislature and not an appointed bureaucratic body that administers the law.<\/p>\n

Religious Communal Rights May Be Diminished<\/strong><\/p>\n

The word \u201ccreed\u201d has a long historical meaning that should be retained. When we hear the word \u201ccreed,\u201d we are mindful of the Apostle\u2019s Creed (390 AD) and the Nicene Creed (325 AD). The word comes from the Latin \u201ccredo\u201d meaning, \u201cI believe.\u201d A creed is a statement of what \u201cI believe.\u201d It is what I believe about the nature, purpose and meaning of life. So in one sense it is individual, but in another it is communal.<\/p>\n

These ancient creeds were created by the Christian community to express their shared religious understanding of their relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. They outline the essentials of the community\u2019s understanding \u2013 the basic foundational premises upon which they built their culture.<\/p>\n

Back in 1962, when the Human Rights Code was first given legislative approval, the word \u201ccreed\u201d was chosen for good reason. The coming into force of the Human Rights Code on June 15, 1962, came with an intellectual and historical context that shaped the public debate and discussion. Less than twenty years before, hundreds of thousands of men and women in uniform returned from the bloody battlefields of Europe. The Jewish holocaust was etched on the national psyche. In 1945, the Ontario Court in the Drummond Wren<\/strong> case[1] held that it was against public policy to restrict the sale of land on the basis of race and religion. In that case, the deed transferring land said, \u201cLand not to be sold to Jews or persons of objectionable nationality.” The Ontario court simply could not tolerate the discrimination against the Jewish people which, \u201c\u2026lends poignancy to the matter when one considers that anti-Semitism has been a weapon in the hands of our recently-defeated enemies, and the scourge of the world.\u201d[2]<\/p>\n

The point here is that the sufferings of the Jewish people played a huge part in the public conscience of Ontario to establish a Human Rights Code to begin with,[3] and the word \u201ccreed,\u201d aptly captured both the individual and communal religious beliefs and practices of such minority groups.<\/p>\n

The Meaning of Words Matter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Changing the meaning of creed from what we, as a civilization, have known it to be for millennia is problematic. We need our words to have a distinct meanings, otherwise we become confused by the imprecise definitions and our ability to communicate is compromised. The word \u201ccreed\u201d should not be stretched beyond its long historic meaning. Otherwise it is unfair, unjust, and in my opinion, untruthful. James Davison Hunter, To Change The World, p. 206, says it well,<\/p>\n

\u201c…[W]hen the objectified and shared meaning of words is undermined, when we no longer have confidence that words signify what we thought they signified, then it is possible to impute any meaning to words one desires. And if words can mean anything, then they have no intrinsic meaning or at least no possibility of a common meaning. They only mean what we say they mean. There are no fixed points of reference. What is more, there is no authority that can be appealed to in order to definitively establish the meaning of words or to adjudicate which meaning is more truthful or better than another. God? Nature? Science? Democracy? Tradition? None of these sources of authority can be trusted because each one exists under the same questioning gaze \u2013 they too are words that have been emptied of meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

We Risk Losing Communal Rights<\/strong>
\nIncluding \u201cethical veganism, pacifism or humanism\u201d as \u201ccreeds\u201d would be intellectually dishonest. The fundamental problem is that a redefinition as contemplated by the OHRC would change the way courts will look at communal rights or associational rights of religious groups. The reason is simple – \u201cethical veganism, pacifism or humanism\u201d are first and foremost clearly individual characteristics. They do not evoke understandings of community in the same way that a Christian denomination does. While a Christian faith community may have individual members who are \u201cethical vegan\u201d or \u201cpacifist,\u201d they are not brought together because of those characteristics. Rather, such communities come together because of their religious ties. That is to say, religious in the sense of their common understanding of their relationship to the Divine, the object of their worship.<\/p>\n

The ethical vegans, pacifists and humanists are not brought together by their worship of the same deity \u2013 they come together because of a common singular concept \u2013 not eating meat, not killing, not believing in a god. The religious groups, on the other hand, have a broad understanding of their place in the world based on their understanding of their respective place before the deity. Their religious beliefs are comprehensive, and not restricted to a single issue. They guide their every aspect of life.<\/p>\n

For example, the fact that a person is a pacifist will not be the motivating factor in establishing a soup kitchen. However, a person within the Judeo-Christian religious belief system will see that a soup kitchen is directly related to the teachings of Christ to love one\u2019s neighbour (Matt. 25:35 and Isaiah 58).<\/p>\n

Why Not Use Another Term?<\/strong>
\nI do see the wisdom in protecting individuals who are ethically vegan, or pacifist, or humanist, but they should be protected based on their own merits instead of equating them to religious belief. Rather than arbitrarily changing the definition of \u201ccreed\u201d to mean something more inclusive, the best solution would be to add to the Human Rights Code another word that will allow more inclusivity such as \u201cconscience.\u201d \u201cConscience\u201d is already used in the Canadian Charter and seems like an obvious solution. In other words, open up another category such as a \u201cdeeply held ethical self-understanding\u201d or words to that effect. Words matter, and we should not be reinventing meanings of long established understandings.<\/p>\n

Redefinition Requires A Public Debate<\/strong>
\nStandard political philosophy of the West requires law to be changed by democratically elected officials who are granted authority to make law. Democratic governance is divided into three major spheres \u2013 the executive (which translates to the premier and prime minister with their respective cabinets); the legislature; and the courts. The legislature is the place where public policy is debated on the floor of the house and in its committees.<\/p>\n

The OHRC is a bureaucratic arm of the executive. Legally, it does not have any jurisdiction to make law. Rather, it enforces the Human Rights Code on behalf of the premier and her government. However, in practice it effectively does indirectly make, or at least shape, law because the OHRC has taken upon itself the role of developing Human Rights Policies which the courts tend to follow. These policies are the commission\u2019s current interpretation of the law, but they are, in its own words, \u201ccutting-edge and innovative interpretations.\u201d \u201cThey open up possibilities for expanding the protections of the Code, address new and emerging human rights issues and trends, incorporate international perspectives on human rights\u2026.\u201d[4]<\/p>\n

Though the OHRC policies are not law \u2013 they are \u201cgiven great deference\u201d[5] by the courts. In other words, the courts and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario will be inclined to follow the OHRC interpretation of the law on any given human rights case. The courts justify their deference because they respect all of the work that the OHRC puts into its policies. It is no small feat \u2013 it takes years to develop these policies. Once the OHRC decides, based upon its experience, the complaints they receive, etc. that a particular area such as \u201ccreed\u201d needs to be studied, it starts a four step process.
\n1. It determines the current law. Lawyers and legal academics are brought together to discuss the state of the law.
\n2. Academic and social science research is conducted on the issue to \u201cidentify historical factors, changing perceptions and understandings of terms and concepts, and alternative approaches to addressing and resolving concerns.\u201d[6]
\n3. The OHRC conducts public consultation with a number of stakeholders such as employers, unions, public and private service providers, human resource professionals, community groups, advocate, lawyers, academics, and governments.[7] These groups may be brought into focus groups to test the draft policies.
\n4. Once approved, the policies are then promoted to the public. \u201cPromotion is critical to raising public awareness and for ensuring that a policy is a vital force that influences society, tribunals, and courts.\u201d[8]<\/p>\n

The fundamental problem with this process is that there is no large open public debate during the incubation stage of the policy development. The general public will not hear of what is going on until the policy is already completed and marketed to the public. Any criticism that the process is not public would be deflected by OHRC\u2019s claim that it undergoes a long consultative process in developing policy. Further, criticism would be countered that this process is more in depth than a legislative process would ever be.<\/p>\n

However, the fact remains that this process is highly susceptible to advocacy groups that have an agenda to change public perception. It is much easier to gain the ear of the academia and the professional class than to try to convince the public at large. For example, there is a common perception amongst the cultural elites that religion must only deal with what they call \u201ccore\u201d matters such as beliefs, worship and symbols. These elites stress that any time religious practices come into the public sphere there must be limits. They argue, for example, that religious groups are not dealing with \u201ccore\u201d religious matters if they are running a nursing home or a school. It is not \u201ccore\u201d only because they say it is not core and have the influence to convince others in the elite classes that this is so. However, for those of us in the Christian religion \u2013 we who have been running nursing homes, schools, and many other ministries for the poor, for at least fifteen hundred to two thousand years \u2013 these activities are very much core to our faith.<\/p>\n

Any redefinition of \u201ccreed\u201d needs to be debated in open and public forums such as the legislature because the changes being proposed as to how we, as religious communities, maintain our religious identity require more than a focus group for discussion.<\/p>\n

A Proposal<\/strong>
\nBroadening the definition of \u201ccreed\u201d would weaken the communal understanding of religion in both the legal realm and the public forum. This is because protecting non-religious sentiments using \u201ccreed\u201d limits our ability to make clear distinctions as to what we mean by religious belief and gives the perception that religious belief is only concerned with individual autonomy, when in reality religious belief has both individual and communal aspects.<\/p>\n

A simple solution is to amend the Human Rights Code to include the word \u201cconscience.\u201d That will protect the individual conscientious positions of the ethical vegan, pacifist or humanist and will leave \u201ccreed\u201d to mean what it has always meant \u2013 a religious belief of the individual and the community.<\/p>\n

Given that diversity and multiculturalism are the mantra of our age, if they are to have any real meaning, they must mean that religious individuals and religious bodies be permitted to follow their understanding of morality and self-identity based on creed. We are all living on the same real estate and we need to respect each other. We must not be forced to comply in matters that go contrary to our core beliefs. Respect also means that we may have to respectfully, with grace, disagree at times without being punished for doing so.<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

1. Drummond Wren, [1945] O.J. No. 546.
\n2. Drummond Wren, at para. 20.
\n3. Irwin Cotler, \u201cJewis NGOs and Religious Human Rights: A Case Study,\u201d in John Witte, Jr., Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Religious Perspectives, (The Hague: Kluwer Law, 1996), p. 258-259.
\n4. Shaheen Azmi, \u201cAddressing Competing Human Rights Claims: The Policy Approach of the Ontario Human Rights Commission,\u201d in Shaheen Azimi, Lorne Foster, & Lesley Jacobs, Balancing Competing Human Rights Claims in a Diverse Society, Institutions, Policy, Principles (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2012), p. 98.
\n5. Shaheen Azmi, p. 99.
\n6. Shaheen Azmi, p. 102.
\n7. Shaheen Azmi, p. 103.
\n8. Shaheen Azmi, p. 104.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you live in Ontario, you have less than seven days left to have your say on a matter that could, in future, have a serious impact on the ability of Christian ministries to hire staff who share the beliefs of the ministry. 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The Sex Lives Of Employees At Religious Institutions: Ontario Human Rights Commission is Updating Our Understanding of Creed","author":"cccc","date":"September 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is in the midst of a three year review of the concept \u201ccreed\u201d in the Ontario Human Rights Code.\u00a0 Navigating religious discrimination is not for the faint of heart.\u00a0 It is an ambitious plan \u2013 especially when you consider the first question that they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"creed\"","block_context":{"text":"creed","link":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/tag\/creed\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15184,"url":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/intersection\/2013\/09\/03\/atheists-deserve-protection-too-says-human-rights-tribunal-of-ontario\/","url_meta":{"origin":15866,"position":1},"title":"Atheists Deserve Protection Too Says Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario","author":"cccc","date":"September 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Rene Chouinard is an atheist.\u00a0 As a parent he teaches his child that she need not fear the gods of religion.\u00a0 In fact, he advocates that every child be given the opportunity to read Just Pretend: \u00a0A Freethought Book for Children.\u00a0 God is compared in the book to Santa Claus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Law and Religion"","block_context":{"text":"Law and Religion","link":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/category\/law-and-religion-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15482,"url":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/intersection\/2013\/09\/12\/revisiting-the-role-of-religion-in-canadian-society\/","url_meta":{"origin":15866,"position":2},"title":"Revisiting the Role of Religion In Canadian Society","author":"cccc","date":"September 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The recent discussion about the Quebec government\u2019s proposal to force religious minorities working in the Quebec civil service to remove their religious symbols has generated an avalanche of anti-religious comments to the news articles.\u00a0 Religion clearly is a sensitive subject \u2013 one ought to walk carefully, it seems, about expressing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Law and Religion"","block_context":{"text":"Law and Religion","link":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/category\/law-and-religion-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22007,"url":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/intersection\/2016\/05\/06\/human-rights-and-christian-ministries\/","url_meta":{"origin":15866,"position":3},"title":"Human Rights and Christian Ministries","author":"cccc","date":"May 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"On May 5 I\u00a0spoke on the issue of Human Rights and Christian Ministries at the Christian Legal Institute in London, Ontario. \u00a0Below are the notes I used for my talk. 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Both the Ontario Divisional Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Ontario's law society (The Law Society of Upper Canada). That\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"@TWUSchoolofLaw\"","block_context":{"text":"@TWUSchoolofLaw","link":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/tag\/twuschooloflaw\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_1809-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27686,"url":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/intersection\/2018\/06\/08\/june-15-twu-decision-to-be-released\/","url_meta":{"origin":15866,"position":5},"title":"June 15 TWU Decision To Be Released","author":"cccc","date":"June 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 June 15, 2018, at 9:45 a.m., Canadian legal history will be made.\u00a0 That is when the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) will release its decisions concerning the Trinity Western University School of Law.\u00a0 There are two decisions that will be given. 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