Cabinet officials refused to disclose how much compensation, if any, was paid to Birju Dattani, a disgraced Chief Human Rights Commissioner appointee, who was ousted before assuming office. Blacklock's Reporter says Dattani, who once described Muslim terrorism as a “well-calculated strategy,” was appointed to the $394,000-a-year role but never officially took up the position.During a Commons public accounts committee meeting, Donnalyn McClymont, deputy secretary to the cabinet, declined to answer direct questions about Dattani's payment status. "In terms of personal information, I am not in a position to divulge personal information about compensation to any cabinet appointee," McClymont said when asked by Conservative MP Larry Brock (Brantford-Brant, Ont.).Dattani’s appointment, made on June 11, was met with backlash after revelations about his controversial past, including a 2014 lecture in which he discussed “the value of the concept of terrorism” at a Muslim Research Forum in Istanbul. Further scrutiny found that, as a student at the London School of Economics, Dattani had attended protests and events critical of Israel and made inflammatory posts on social media accusing Israel of “war crimes.”Conservative MP John Williamson (New Brunswick Southwest), chair of the committee, asserted that the information regarding Dattani’s payout couldn’t be withheld indefinitely. "We can compel an answer," Williamson remarked.Despite Dattani’s abrupt removal before taking office, Brock criticized the government for lack of transparency.“Canadians want answers as to why the government saw fit to hire an anti-Semite without doing any appropriate background checks. Canadians want to know how much taxpayer money went to Mr. Dattani while he was on leave."Brock also pointed out the issue of severance, noting that most people who resign in disgrace don’t receive compensation packages. “He resigned in disgrace,” Brock said. “I will be asking the Privy Council Office to provide details of how much the compensation was and how much he received while on leave.”Dattani, when questioned by investigators, expressed regret for his past comments, claiming he was not anti-Semitic and that he found terrorism “morally repugnant.” However, a report by investigators from the law firm Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP expressed concerns over Dattani's attempts to downplay his past academic work, which was highly critical of Israel. "His failure to directly disclose this work deprived the government of the opportunity to have a discussion about its potential impact on his role as Chief Commissioner," the report stated.Despite the controversy, McClymont reiterated that Dattani’s appointment was derailed due to an administrative oversight, without elaborating further on the compensation issue.
