Virani said in a statement he had carefully reviewed the findings but he did not comment further on them, only saying they “speak for themselves.”
“I received Mr. Dattani’s submissions in response to the report on August 1, 2024. I have accepted Mr. Dattani’s decision to step down as Chief Commissioner,” said Virani.
Dattani’s appointment was announced in mid-June and was quickly criticized by Jewish advocates, who, along with media outlets, surfaced Dattani’s previous social media posts and comments at speaking engagements. Dattani is a lawyer who previously served as executive director of the Yukon Human Rights Commission from 2020 to 2023.
Firm’s Response
The law firm conducting the review collated the multiple instances of material or activities that could be construed as controversial and addressed them with Dattani.The firm said Dattani had acknowledged his involvement in past activities and in “most instances, Mr. Dattani took issue with the manner in which these activities were characterized in the Media Reports or in the publicly-accessible documentation.”
With regards to the Warsaw Ghetto reference, Dattani told the firm in hindsight he would not have sent the tweet and that he had done so as a means to generate discussion with his audience, which was largely academic.
Concerning Adnan Khan and Hizb ut-Tahrir, Dattani told the firm he wasn’t familiar with Khan’s views.
The firm said Dattani was forthcoming with regard to a dozen allegations addressed in his interview and additional submissions, but noted he “deliberately de-emphasized the manner in which his academic work was critical of the State of Israel in respect of its treatment of Palestinians.”
Much of this work was conducted under the alias “Mujahid Dattani” and Dattani did not flag it in the hiring process as an area which could impact the Canadian government’s reputation, the firm said.
The firm said in its view this criticism of Israel is not necessarily an impediment to serving as chief commissioner, but not disclosing it deprived the government the opportunity to discuss how this could impact Dattani’s work as human rights commissioner.
The firm also noted it didn’t find evidence that Dattani “harboured or harbours any beliefs that would be characterized as anti-Semitic or that he has demonstrated any biases (conscious or unconscious) towards Jews or Israelis.”
Hiring Process
Law firm Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti also examined the hiring process that led to Dattani’s appointment.Dattani used the name Mujahid Dattani, his adopted Muslim name, online and when addressing Muslim audiences. Dattani told the law firm the decision to use Birju or Mujahid in public was “just whimsical,” but the firm rejected the suggestion.
“In our view, Mr. Dattani was thoughtful and deliberate about when he chose to use one name versus another whether in writing, on Twitter, or when participating in speaking engagements.”
The law firm also assessed that Dattani intentionally omitted using “Mujahid Dattani” on the government consent form to undergo a background check and didn’t mention the use of the name at any other time during the application or interview process.
The report from Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti contains screenshots of the consent form filled out by Dattani. The biographical information field for “All other names used” contains “Birju Mujahid” and “Birju M.” but not “Muhajid Dattani.”
Minister Virani said a new process to hire the chief commissioner will start as soon as possible.
“Maintaining the confidence of all Canadians in the Canadian Human Rights Commission remains my top priority,” he said.
