Photo: Sean Kilpatrick The Canadian Press Virani launched the investigation after Canadian Jewish organizations raised concerns about allegations surrounding Birju Dattani's past activities.
Laura Osman – The Canadian Press in Ottawa
Published at 11:07 a.m.
- Canada
Following an independent review, Justice Minister Arif Virani announced Wednesday that Birju Dattani would not begin his term as chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) on Thursday as planned.
Mr. Virani launched the investigation after Canadian Jewish organizations expressed concerns about allegations surrounding Mr. Dattani's past activities.
This one, the first Muslim and racialized person to be appointed to the position, has already denied allegations that he made anti-Israel statements, including what conservatives call “justification of terrorism.”
“While I carefully review this matter, Mr. Dattani has agreed to take a leave of absence and will not begin work at the CHRC on August 8, 2024,” Minister Virani said in a statement Wednesday evening.
“I will have more to say in the coming days,” he added.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Mr. Dattani did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His lawyer has already said his client will contest any attempt to have him fired.
The concerns stem from Mr. Dattani’s deleted online posts, under a different name, while he was a graduate student in London nearly a decade ago, and from a panel appearance he made around the same time alongside a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic fundamentalist group.
Mr. Dattani acknowledged that in 2014 he shared an article titled Palestinians are today’s prisoners of Warsaw ghetto. He previously told CBC News and the Globe and Mailthat he disagreed with the article's argument.
He rejected suggestions that he had shared articles comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, as a 2015 article claimed. The post has since been deleted.
Mr. Virani said her top priority is maintaining trust in the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman called on the Liberals to fire Dattani and hold public hearings into his appointment.
“Nothing about this review is independent or transparent, as the entire process was set up by the same Liberals who spent weeks trying to cover up the truth about this appointment,” she said in a statement Wednesday night.
“This meaningless half-measure is not enough.”
The review was conducted by Toronto law firm Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP. Virani thanked the company on Wednesday for completing the work in such a short time frame.
Read also
- Column | Not learning from your mistakes