Alberta appoints new acting Human Rights Commission chief
CTV
The Alberta government has rescinded the appointment of the head of its Human Rights Commission in a dispute stemming from a passage in a book review that has been criticized as Islamophobic.
The Alberta government has rescinded the appointment of the head of its Human Rights Commission in a dispute stemming from a passage in a book review that has been criticized as Islamophobic.
Justice Minister Tyler Shandro's department did not formally announce it had removed Collin May as head of the commission.
Instead, it emailed to media late Thursday afternoon a copy of the official cabinet order rescinding May's job, without comment.
Sometime later, University of Calgary law professor and associate dean Evaristus Oshionebo's name was added to the commission website's list of chiefs, followed by the notes "(Acting)" and "(September 2022)".
The cabinet order contained no reasons for the decision or comment from Shandro.
Earlier this week, Shandro publicly urged May to resign after a Muslim advocacy group said May had failed to keep a promise to meet with them over comments in a book review he had written in 2009 that they deemed Islamophobic.
May refused to resign and instead hired a lawyer who announced earlier Thursday that May had done nothing wrong.
