Judging by recent media coverage, the public would be justified in thinking that the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) is the most troubled of Canada’s federal bureaucracies. Recently, the CBC followed up on a story it did more than a year ago about allegations by CHRC staff against that organization’s first-ever Accessibility Commissioner, Michael Gottheil.Following accusations of having a “toxic impact” on the workplace, the Canadian government, at a cost of more than $230,000, commissioned a third-party report into Gottheil’s actions in his new role. The report is now completed and Canada’s Justice Minister, Arif Varani, has asked for Gottheil’s response to its findings.While this may seem like a rather mundane matter apart from the cost, it should concern all Canadians. At the organizational level, human rights commissions, federal and provincial, deal largely with complaints about discrimination in the workplace: these constitute the majority of cases before commissions across Canada. That the CHRC is dealing with allegations of a toxic workplace within its own workforce rightly causes Canadians to doubt whether their workplace concerns will be fairly adjudicated by the Commission.Unfortunately, the CHRC’s problems don’t stop there. The Gottheil story follows hot on the heels of the ongoing uproar over the Justice Minister’s appointment of Birju Dattani as the new Chief of the CHRC. As numerous outlets have reported, Jewish groups are up in arms over a series of allegedly anti-Israel tweets, statements and appearances attributed to Dattani while studying in the UK using his middle name as an alias. Combine that with the fact that Dattani will preside over the new Online Harms Act that gives the government wide-ranging authority to police would-be hate speech, and it’s not hard to see why Jews, already subject to significant anti-semitic attacks, are worried.Varani’s response to this is to call for yet another third-party investigation. At this pace, investigations into employee conduct will exceed the CHRC’s operating budget.But that isn’t all. The CHRC’s third misadventure concerns allegations of anti-black racism at the Commission. In fact, things have gotten so bad that the United Nations-affiliated Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions has threated to downgrade the Commission’s accreditation. Again, this raises the question of how Canadians of African and Caribbean descent can expect to be treated fairly by a CHRC that itself faces charges of racism.Canadians might wonder how the organization tasked with protecting citizens’ rights at the federal level is now facing a trifecta of accusations. However, this is not only a federal concern. As a former Chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission (AHRC), I can assure you that this plays out at the provincial level as well.Beyond these organizational concerns lie vested political interests that prevent reform of our human rights regimes. Our commissions have become heavily politicized, often acting as proxies for ideology and virtue-signalling politicians with no concern for individual rights. Additionally, identity-based activists use them to bolster their own reputation with their stakeholders, engaging in a victim culture that silences legitimate criticism of views and actions that undermine Canada’s liberal democratic regime.So, what do we do in response to this ongoing debacle? I would suggest shining some light on these organizations is a good place to start.At the federal level, there have been repeated calls on the Commons Justice Committee, to address the concerns around Dattani. With Gottheil in the mix, along with a confidential report on his actions that will remain hidden from Canadians, I would strongly argue that the Committee be reconvened to allow MPs to get to the bottom of the rot at the CHRC. The appropriate action taken would be a model for provinces dealing with similar issues.Canadians want their rights protected and without transparency at the CHRC and across Canada, they have every reason to doubt that is happening.Collin May is a senior fellow with the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, a lawyer, and an adjunct lecturer in medicine at the University of Calgary. May is the former Chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission.
