Justice Minister Arif Virani speaks in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 6. Chantalle Aubertin, a spokesperson for Mr. Virani, said Bill 'C-63 is a package.'Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Justice Minister Arif Virani is facing fresh pressure to split the online harms bill in two as the controversy surrounding the appointment of Canada’s new human rights chief threatens to undermine support for a key plank of the bill designed to combat hate.
The Bloc Québécois is renewing calls on Mr. Virani to split the bill, saying it is important that the new head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which will gain enhanced powers under the bill, command public trust.
Meanwhile Jewish groups that support Bill C-63 say the appointment of Birju Dattani as the new human rights chief raises questions about measures it contains.
Birju Dattani is due to start his new job on Aug. 8. But since his appointment last month, Jewish groups have expressed deep concern about tweets – including one linking to an article comparing Palestinians to Jews incarcerated in the Warsaw Ghetto – that he posted under an alias, Mujahid Dattani, while a graduate student in London, England.
Mr. Virani launched an independent investigation into the appointment after the Jewish groups raised concerns. It is due to report before Mr. Dattani starts as chief commissioner. But this week, the government admitted it had failed to screen Mr. Dattani under the alias he had provided, and background checks by the RCMP and CSIS under the alias are currently being carried out.
A senior government source told The Globe and Mail that it is looking at ways to delay his start date until the investigation has finished its work. The Globe is not identifying the source as they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), warned that Mr. Dattani’s appointment could create an issue for the online harms bill.
CIJA was at the launch of the bill by Mr. Virani at a press conference on Parliament Hill in February. The Justice Minister has cited CIJA’s public support as evidence that the bill has the backing of both Jewish and Muslim groups.
“If the appointment of Birju Dattani as commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) is confirmed, it would prompt new questions about the whole suite of initiatives the government has put forward to address hate, including the measures proposed in Bill C-63,” Mr. Koffler Fogel said in a statement.
“The considerations revolve around the issue of confidence. There is no doubt that Mr. Dattani’s past should have disqualified him from contention for this important role. As many have commented, the head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission should be, and appear to be, completely fair. Regrettably, we have no confidence that Mr. Dattani is either of those.”
The online harms bill would give people the ability to make complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act about hate speech to the CHRC.
The CHRC could dismiss complaints without merit, while those deemed valid would be forwarded to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to assess. The tribunal could demand that a hateful post be taken down or that the victim of such a post gain up to $20,000 in compensation.
Earlier this year, more than 20 civil society groups and legal experts delivered an open letter to Mr. Virani, urging him to split Parts Two and Three of Bill C-63, separating new provisions in the Criminal Code and under the Canadian Human Rights Act from other measures designed to combat online harm.
Rhéal Fortin, the Bloc Québécois’ justice critic, said he supports splitting the bill so its two parts can be considered in Parliament separately. He said the new commissioner needs to command public trust, and he is planning to renew calls for the bill to be separated.
But Chantalle Aubertin, a spokesperson for Mr. Virani, said “C-63 is a package.”
“While it may have four parts, it is deliberately designed to address the full range of challenges we face in addressing online harms,” she said. “That includes the hate that we see both online and in the real world, because in many respects they are inseparable.”
Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, director policy & advocacy at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Canada, said Mr. Dattani’s appointment “raises some very serious concerns about the potential for the bill to be effective about actually addressing hate.”
“Given Dattani’s history, given the new powers that will be assigned to the commission under the new online harms bill, we have some serious concerns about confidence in the new institutions that are being set up to fairly adjudicate on cases of antisemitism,” she said. “Canada’s new human rights chief needs to be a person who has the trust of the public to serve all Canadians with the utmost fairness and integrity.”
Fatema Abdalla, a spokeswoman for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, defended Mr. Dattani and said he was a victim of a “witch hunt.” She said the NCCM is “generally supportive of balanced and appropriate online harms legislation.”
“We are also supportive of the standing of appointees to government bodies not being smeared simply because they have a Muslim name,” she said.
David Thomas, a lawyer and former the chairperson of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in Ottawa, said the job of chief commissioner requires technical legal skills and “an unequivocal appearance of neutrality.”
But David Sachs, a spokesperson for the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, said Mr. Dattani’s appointment is “an insult to our community and the wave of hate we’re experiencing.”
“Canadian Jews are the number one target for hate crimes in Canada, so Canadian human rights commissioners are going to be hearing from victimized Canadian Jews. Many of those cases are going to involve anti-Israel fanaticism, and the overlap with antisemitism, and incitement of antisemitism,” he said, adding that the new chief commissioner must inspire confidence.