The Justice Minister came under pressure Wednesday from the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and Jewish advocates to replace Ottawa’s newly appointed human-rights chief, saying Birju Dattani no longer commands the confidence of people he could be defending from discrimination.
In 2015, Mr. Dattani also spoke at a panel discussion about the War on Terror alongside Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, and outreach director of CAGE International, an advocacy group set up to raise awareness of the situation of prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. In order to remove him from the role a resolution would need to be passed by both the House of Commons and the Senate, which are on their summer break.
“Dattani is not an appropriate choice for the important position at the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the offer should be rescinded,” he said.