Government now says new human rights chief did disclose key information about controversial social media posts
CBC
The federal government now says Birju Dattani, the new head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, did disclose the alias he used to make controversial social media posts — after it initially claimed that information was never shared before he was hired.
Justice Minister Arif Virani's spokesperson confirms that Dattani did pass on the alias to "public servants as part of the security assessment of Mr. Dattani." The minister's press secretary, Chantalle Aubertin, added that the name was not provided to Virani's office.
The news raises new questions about what the federal government knew — or ought to have known — about Dattani before he was appointed to lead the country's human rights watchdog, the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC).
In June, Dattani was named the CHRC's chief commissioner, making him the first Muslim or racialized person to head the organization.
Shortly after his historic appointment, national Jewish organizations cited what they described as antisemitic social media posts made under the name "Mujahid Dattani" and a controversial appearance on a debate panel in the U.K.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) accused Dattani of posting articles on X, formerly Twitter, that compared Israel to Nazi Germany. The posts and Dattani's account appear to have been deleted.
CBC News has not seen the alleged posts. Dattani himself has said he did not compare Israel to Nazi Germany. He said he did share without comment an article comparing the plight of Palestinians to that of prisoners in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War, adding that he didn't agree with the article's argument.
In 2015, Dattani also spoke on a panel in the U.K. alongside a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic fundamentalist group that seeks to establish a new caliphate and opposes Israel's existence.
Dattani said he was unaware of the other panellists' affiliations and had never met them before.
The minister's office did not confirm that Dattani used the alias "Mujahid Dattani" online and did not respond to follow-up questions from CBC. It did say that "a formal, independent review" has been launched into the matter and a public report will be published before Aug. 8, when Dattani is supposed to assume his new role.
CBC reached out to the Justice Department. The Privy Council Office (PCO) — the secretariat serving the federal cabinet and the prime minister — replied, saying that "due to the application of the Privacy Act and for confidentiality reasons, PCO is not able to comment further."
The Conservative Party of Canada has called on the federal government to rescind Dattani's appointment and wants the House of Commons justice committee to probe the matter. Conservatives have accused the government of investigating itself.
Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman said the government could easily have learned more about Dattani's past through a Google search.
"It's either complete incompetence or something more nefarious," Lantsman said, reacting to the news that Dattani provided his alias to the government through the vetting process.
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