On Thursday, the province rescinded the appointment of Colin May as head of the commission through cabinet after pressure from the Muslim community over a book review he published called Islamophobic. A day later, May’s lawyer, Kathryn Marshall, told CTV News Edmonton in a statement that she would be suing the province after his “inexplicable and outrageous complaint.” “He will seek justice for his dismissal,” added Marshall. Justice Minister Tyler Sandro did not comment after May was removed from the committee. The order in council canceling May’s appointment gave no reason for his removal. On Monday, Shandro had called for May’s resignation after the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) published a letter signed by 28 community groups and mosques criticizing comments May made in a 2009 book that reinforced negative stereotypes about Islam. May reviewed Israeli-British historian Efraim Karsh’s book “Islamic Imperialism: A History”, where he claimed Islam was “one of the most militaristic religions known to man”. Despite the Islamophobic comments, the NCCM said Muslim leaders remained committed to meeting May so he could “reflect on his actions”, but refused some meetings. According to the Muslim advocacy group, May also issued letters of demand threatening to sue his critics. “This series of actions, in our view, showed that Mr. May was not interested in good faith,” Said Omar, NCCM’s Alberta advocacy manager, said in a statement Friday. May was appointed to the commission in 2019 and became chair in June. According to Marshall, May “kept his promise” to meet with various community stakeholders. “In fact, more meetings were scheduled until the NCCM unilaterally shut down the process,” Marshall said. “The government knows this but fired him anyway. “This is wrong and should never have happened.” The NCCM thanked Sandro for removing May, calling the move confirmation that the Human Rights Commission remains an institution committed to equality. “We did not think his behavior was befitting of someone who was chosen to occupy a government leadership position in the field of human rights and equality,” Said said. The commission’s website has since added the name of University of Calgary law professor and vice-chancellor Evaristus Osionebo to its list of chiefs, including the notations “acting” and “September 2022 – current.”
