Canada’s human rights commissioner Birju Dattani has resigned before ever officially starting the job, according to a post on his LinkedIn account.
Dattani agreed to go on leave last week — the day before he was set to officially begin his role — following complaints about past comments and actions of his that were called antisemitic by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).
“I remain a steadfast believer in the Commission’s work, mandate, and its importance to our democracy,” Dattani posted on LinkedIn on Monday.
The complaints triggered a fact-finding mission initiated by Justice Minister Arif Virani and run by the firm Filion Wakely Angeletti LLP. They submitted their report to Virani on July 31.
“The findings speak for themselves,” Virani said in a media statement. “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. As I have said, maintaining the confidence of all Canadians in the Canadian Human Rights Commission remains my top priority.”
Virani added that the search for a new commissioner will begin as soon as possible and the interim commissioner, Charlotte-Anne Malischewski, will continue to serve in the role in the meantime.
In Dattani’s Aug. 1 response, shared on his LinkedIn account alongside his resignation announcement, he points out the report found his comments should not be characterized as antisemitic.
“Based on Mr. Dattani’s evidence, the scholarship that was reviewed and provided, we cannot find that Mr. 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,” says a segment of the report cited by Dattani in his letter to Virani.
Another excerpt of the report cited by Dattani says he has a “high degree of self-awareness and sensitivity” to the challenges faced by Canadian Jews.
A second name and social media
The CIJA has pointed out that Dattani used the name “Mujahid Dattani” in some of his online activities, a name that was not covered by the initial Privy Council Office (PCO) background check.
In Dattani’s letter to Virani, he says he was raised Hindu but became Muslim in 2001 and adopted the name Mujahid. Dattani says that in 2017 he chose to again go by his given name of Birju Dattani, but Mujahid remains part of his identity.
Dattani says in his letter that he misinterpreted the intent of some of the boxes in the background check form and accuses the investigator of “glazing over” his explanation.
CIJA pointed to a blog post alleging that when he was an academic, Dattani posted 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 independently viewed the alleged posts.
Dattani previously told CBC News that he shared the post, titled “Palestinians are Warsaw Ghetto Prisoners of Today,” in order to generate conversation.
Dattani cited excerpts from the fact-finding report which say he “deliberately de-emphasized” and “made attempts to downplay” how his academic work was critical of Israel.
In his submission, Dattani criticized those statements as “subjective” and said they lacked evidence.
More to come …