The former head of the Alberta Human Rights Commission is suing the province’s justice minister for wrongful dismissal, claiming Tyler Shandro caved in to carefully orchestrated political pressure.
Collin May’s statement of claim alleges members and supporters of the Opposition New Democratic Party feared May would expose sexual harassment problems at the commission that occurred when they were in government.
“This made the plaintiff a threat, and he was subsequently targeted by political opponents weeks before he was scheduled to start his term as chief,” the document says.
New Democrat justice critic Irfan Sabir called the charges a distraction.
“Collin May published overtly racist and Islamophobic views,” he said in an email Tuesday.
“The UCP government belatedly held him accountable for that. Mr. May’s innuendo is merely an attempt to distract from his own behaviour.”
May, a Calgary lawyer, was hired as chief of the commission on May 25.
Questions about his appointment began almost immediately. Some criticized his lack of experience in human rights law and others pointed to a book review he wrote in 2009 in which he quoted statements saying Islam was a fundamentally violent religion.
That review drew concerns from the National Council of Canadian Muslims. Members of the NDP caucus also called for May’s resignation.
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The statement of claim accuses NDP supporters of stockpiling May’s book review years ago, then carefully co-ordinating and managing the public outcry against him to engineer his removal.
“The NDP were clearly co-ordinated for the purpose of smearing the plaintiff’s character,” the document says.
It goes on to allege the New Democrats went after May because they were afraid he would renew sexual harassment allegations against two senior members of the commission who had been appointed by NDP leader and then-premier Rachel Notley.
“(May) learned that there was also a culture of pervasive sexual harassment within the NDP during Notley’s time as premier,” says the claim.
“Notley therefore could not afford to have the public learn that… her own appointees had also allowed for a culture of pervasive sexual harassment and bullying.”
The document says Shandro neither defended May nor emphasized that the commission is an arm’s length agency, which he has no direct control over. In fact, it alleges senior officials in Shandro’s office were so insistent on getting May to apologize for statements he says he didn’t make that May had to block their numbers on his cellphone.
As well, the lawsuit alleges May was forbidden from meeting with Muslim organizations by Muhammad Yaseen, Alberta’s associate minister of immigration and multiculturalism. It says May was told to wait to await ministerial direction, which never came.
“Minister Shandro’s office was heavily involved in facilitating the smear campaign against Collin May,” said May’s lawyer Kathryn Marshall in an interview.
The situation got so bad that May received threatening phone calls at his home. May’s law firm removed his phone number from its website and for four days in July, the lawsuit says, May and his partner were afraid to leave their Calgary home.
“The (commission) and the defendant did nothing to support (May) during this difficult time,” the lawsuit says.
It says that on Sept. 15, May got a letter telling him his job was over on a “without cause” basis.
A spokesman for Shandro declined to comment, saying the matter is before the courts.
Marshall said May had signed a five-year contract on the same basis as any other civil servant and was not given the basic rights he was due under Canadian law.
“It’s not about deflecting criticism or playing political games,” she said. “This is about getting my clients’ rights enforced.
“(The government) fired him and are now falsely alleging he resigned.”
The lawsuit seeks to recover the money May would have earned over the five-year term as well as damages to his reputation — about $2.1 million.
The allegations in the statement of claim have not been tested in court.
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