New choice of CHRC chief is unacceptable
New choice of CHRC chief is unacceptable
The government announced Birju Dattani as the next head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) – an important role, tasked with adjudicating issues of hate and discrimination.
There is a serious problem, however: social media posts and comments from Mr. Dattani reveal a troubling past of anti-Israel and even antisemitic positions.
Trying to explain it away, Dattani avoided acknowledging that he did wrong, instead attempting a half-hearted apology, to which we respond, “apology not accepted!”
Dattani shared articles that compared Israel to Nazi Germany, spoke on a panel in the U.K. with a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic fundamentalist group that seeks to establish a new caliphate and opposes the existence of an Israeli state, and repeatedly lectured during “Israel Apartheid Week” at British universities about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Meanwhile, the office of the Attorney General and Justice Minister stated, “it is critical for the Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission to maintain the confidence of all Canadians and to be seen as an impartial and fair judge of matters before them.”
We couldn’t agree more. And that’s why Birju Dattani must not be made Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
We need you to help send that message to Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
