Feds reviewing new human rights commissioner's online posts after Jewish advocates raise concerns

Justice Minister Arif Virani's office says it's reviewing past comments and activities of the recently appointed head of Canada's human rights watchdog that Jewish advocates are flagging as antisemitic.

Birju Dattani was appointed chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) earlier this month. He previously served in a similar role with the Yukon Human Rights Commission.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said it is «deeply concerned» about Dattani's appointment to the CHRC due to his past affiliations and social media activity.

«The appointment of someone with such a deeply flawed background only exacerbates the skeptical public perceptions of the CHRC and undermines our confidence in the commission's ability to adjudicate issues of hate and discrimination,» the Jewish advocacy organization said in a statement provided to CBC News.

When asked for comment about CIJA's concerns, Virani's office said it was unaware of the concerns when Dattani was appointed.

«We have become aware of potentially troubling statements attributed to Mr. Dattani, as well as events he participated in while he was a graduate student in London, England a decade ago,» Chantalle Aubertin, Virani's press secretary, said in an email.

«We have been carefully reviewing these statements and events, and discussing them with Mr. Dattani, as well as relevant stakeholders, to ensure that we have complete and accurate information.»

Past social media activity under scrutiny

CIJA pointed to a blog post that alleges 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 post.

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