Birju Dattani, the newly-appointed chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, says he will resign concluding an investigation into his past comments on Israel.
An investigation was launched after several Canadian Jewish organizations raised concerns about Dattani’s past.
Dattani previously made comments which have been characterized by many as being “justification of terrorism.”
Liberals on Dattani last week: “We didn’t know.”
— Marty Morantz 🇨🇦 (@marty_morantz) July 5, 2024
Liberals on Dattani this week: “We did know.”
Now that we know that they knew, will Anthony Housefather finally agree to a public committee meeting? pic.twitter.com/jWqtq751vP
Justice Minister Arif Virani informed Dattani in a late July letter that the findings of the investigation raised significant concerns regarding his honesty during the appointment process.
Although Dattani was scheduled to begin his role last Thursday, he agreed to take a leave of absence while Virani deliberated on the appropriate response.
Virani has stated that the process to appoint a new chief commissioner will commence "as soon as possible."
“I have accepted Mr. Dattani’s decision to step down as chief commissioner,” Justice Minister Arif Vriani said in a statement released.
As a graduate student, Dattani appeared on a panel alongside an Islamic fundamentalist. Now-deleted posts allegedly compared Israel to Nazi Germany.
The probe concluded that Dattani’s “scholarship and depth of knowledge of the Israel-Palestine could have been framed as an asset” in his new role, wrote employment lawyer Sarah Crossley. The review found, however, that he made efforts to “downplay the critical nature of his work” while using a different name during his time at a graduate school in the 2010s.
Last month: “Justice Department announced plans to launch an independent investigation after Dattani’s now deleted social-media posts emerged; it is due to report before Dattani starts his new role.”
— Michael Geist (@mgeist) August 7, 2024
Dattani is scheduled to start tomorrow. Report?https://t.co/I3zIHyaNWD
“Certainly, his failure to directly disclose this work deprived the Government of the opportunity to have a discussion with Mr. Dattani about what, if any, impact his scholarship and perspective would or could have if he were appointed to the role of chief commissioner,” she wrote.
In the lead-up to his resignation, Jewish advocacy groups such as The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs had urged Dattani to step down or for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to remove him.
