diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index db6512e26e0..fb7aa50cc12 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Bundler.require(:i18n_tools)
 
 CanvasRails::Application.load_tasks
 
-if ENV['KNAPSACK_ENABLED'] && defined?(Knapsack)
+if ENV['KNAPSACK_ENABLED'] == '1' && defined?(Knapsack)
   require 'spec/support/knapsack_extensions'
   Knapsack.load_tasks
 end
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 43ce5513c9f..2496cb4e30e 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ begin
 rescue LoadError
 end
 
-if ENV['KNAPSACK_ENABLED']
+if ENV['KNAPSACK_ENABLED'] == '1'
   puts "DEBUGGING FOR KNAPSACK: rspec run with args: #{ARGV}"
   require 'knapsack'
   Knapsack::Adapters::RSpecAdapter.bind