V. Allegations and summary of information considered

(a) Allegations against Mr. Dattani from Media Reports

As part of the Investigation, we reviewed the Media Reports published between June 25, 2024 and July 24, 2024 to identify allegations or information that may be relevant to the mandate. We also independently reviewed all publicly-accessible information, which in some cases was referenced in the Media Reports.

In particular, we identified the following allegations and, where available, reviewed publicly-accessible information in respect of those allegations below:

  1. Mr. Dattani tweeted while studying in England under the Twitter handle @mujahid_dattani and had tweeted “Palestinians are Warsaw Ghetto Prisoners of Today” linking to an article of that name.Footnote 29 This tweet was not publicly-accessible although the article was still accessible. We obtained a copy of the applicable tweet from Mr. Dattani, who had received a copy of it from Marie Woolf of The Globe and Mail to provide comment. This tweet was not publicly-accessible.
  2. On November 17, 2012, Mr. Dattani was interviewed for an article while participating in a protest outside the Israeli embassy in London.Footnote 30 His attendance was referenced in publicly-accessible material, specifically an article from a website entitled, The News Line.Footnote 31 In this article on The News Line, Mr. Dattani was referred to as “Mujahid Dattani”.
  3. On February 24, 2014, Mr. Dattani sat on a panel for “Israel Apartheid Week” at Cambridge University on the topic of “Apartheid in Palestine/Israel: Reality, Legality and Resistance”. The panel also included Ben White.Footnote 32 Mr. Dattani’s attendance on this panel is referenced in publicly-accessible material on a website entitled Palestine Solidarity Campaign. On this website, Mr. Dattani was referred to as “Mujahid Dattani”.Footnote 33
  4. On March 17, 2014, Mr. Dattani spoke at Bogazici University in Turkey about the “War on Terrorism and Islamophobia.”Footnote 34 His attendance at this event was referenced in publicly-accessible tweets on or around March 13, 2014, and in other documents for this talk. In the tweets about and information advertising this talk, Mr. Dattani was referred to as “Mujahid Dattani”.Footnote 35
  5. On August 1, 2014, Mr. Dattani signed an open letter by Richard Falk condemning Israel’s military operation against Hamas in 2014.Footnote 36 While this letter was not authored by Mr. Falk, but rather by several international law scholars, Mr. Falk posted and endorsed the letter on his personal website. On Mr. Falk’s website, Mr. Dattani identified himself in the comments section as someone to be added to the letter as “Birju M. Dattani”.Footnote 37
  6. On August 12, 2014, Mr. Dattani spoke on a panel about the BDS movement in Turkey with Osama Qashoo, a member of the Mavi Marmara flotilla.Footnote 38 Publicly-accessible tweets on or around August 12, 2014 refer to Mr. Dattani as “Mujahid Dattani”.Footnote 39
  7. In 2014, Mr. Dattani tweeted a link to an article about summary executions, which referred to actions taken by Israel and executions by the Nazis and other regimes.Footnote 40 This reference appeared on a website, but the original tweet was not available or accessible.Footnote 41
  8. On January 14, 2015, Mr. Dattani delivered a presentation on “Terrorism and the Targeting of Civilians under International Law” to the Muslim Research Forum.Footnote 42 Mr. Dattani’s presentation was referenced in a post on the Muslim Research Forum website. In all publicly-accessible material, Mr. Dattani was referred to as “Mujahid Dattani”.Footnote 43
  9. On February 9, 2015, Mr. Dattani sat on a panel at Cambridge University entitled “Israel/Palestine: How can peace be made?” The other members of the panel included, inter alia, Professor Alan Johnson (co-founder of Labour Friends of Israel), Paul Charney (Chair of the Zionist Association of Great Britain and Ireland), Hannah Weisfeld (Founder and director of the ‘pro-Israel, pro-peace’ Yachad).Footnote 44 Mr. Dattani’s attendance on this panel was documented on the events section on the Kings Politics website. In this publically-accessible material, Mr. Dattani was referred to as “Birju Dattani (teaching fellow at the Centre for Palestine Studies in SOAS)”.
  10. On February 20, 2015, Mr. Dattani sat on a panel entitled “The Fragmentation of the Arab World: A Centenary of Betrayal” with Adnan Khan, a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist fundamentalist organization.Footnote 45 Mr. Dattani’s attendance on this panel was documented on the website/blog entitled Student Rights, and a post on the Muslim Students Association at SOAS on February 12, 2015. In this publicly-accessible material, Mr. Dattani was referred to as “Mujahid Dattani”.Footnote 46
  11. On February 27, 2015, Mr. Dattani lectured as part of “Israel Apartheid Week” at the London School of Economics (“LSE”) on the topic of “Palestine 101: Apartheid” or “Palestine 101: Apartheid?”Footnote 47 Mr. Dattani’s attendance at this lecture was referenced in tweets on February 27, 2015, and a Facebook event for this talk. In this publicly-accessible material, Mr. Dattani was referred to as “Mujahid Dattani”.Footnote 48
  12. In 2015, Mr. Dattani spoke on a panel with Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, who worked for an advocacy group raising awareness of prisoners held in the detention camp.Footnote 49 There was no publicly-accessible material that we able to locate in respect of this panel.
  13. The Media Reports also detailed significant concerns raised by Jewish stakeholders regarding Mr. Dattani’s appointment including CIJA, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), B’nai Brith, and Jewish Educators and Families Association of Canada. Specifically, CIJA and FSWC called for the Government to rescind Mr. Dattani’s appointmentFootnote 50 and B’nai Brith accused Mr. Dattani of making “unCanadian remarks” and “putting the sanctity and security of our democracy […] at risk”.Footnote 51
  14. The Media Reports also stated that Mr. Dattani failed to disclose his past activities as a graduate student in London when applying for the position of Chief Commissioner.Footnote 52

(b) Additional Information Reviewed

In addition to the information detailed above, we reviewed and considered additional relevant information that was not readily accessible through Google and was not specifically referenced in the Media Reports, which included:

We also reviewed Mr. Dattani’s research (which consisted of articles, draft chapters, and presentations) much of which was ultimately not relevant to the mandate or the allegations raised in the Media Reports.

(c) Information Provided by Mr. Dattani and Reviewed in Advance of Mr. Dattani’s Interview

In response to our request for certain materials, we were provided with and reviewed the following information from Mr. Dattani:

Mr. Dattani also provided an additional list of presentations and conferences relevant to the allegations:

With the exception of the tweet provided to Mr. Dattani by a reporter, Mr. Dattani was not able to provide us with any additional tweets or social media posts that had not already been located during the course of our Investigation.

(d) The Application Process for the Chief Commissioner of the CHRC

A Notice of Appointment Opportunity, for the position of Chief Commissioner, CHRC, which is a GIC appointment, was published on April 28, 2022 and stated that the review of applications would commence on June 7, 2022.Footnote 53 Mr. Dattani applied for the position of Chief Commissioner of the CHRC in accordance with the Notice of Appointment Opportunity. Since 2016, GIC appointments have been subject to a formal, advertised selection process,Footnote 54 and candidates are assessed against the selection criteria developed for the position.

Mr. Dattani’s application process for the Chief Commissioner position included, but was not limited to the following:

After the selection, approval, and vetting process, Mr. Dattani was appointed to the position of Chief Commissioner of the CHRC by way of Order in Council on June 11, 2024.Footnote 61 On June 14, 2024, the Government of Canada issued a news release dated June 14, 2024, announcing the appointment of Mr. Dattani as the Chief Commissioner of the CHRC, a role with a term of five years, commencing on August 8, 2024.Footnote 62