Dear Minister Tyler Shandro, 

Mr. Collin May was appointed by the Alberta government as the Chair of the Alberta Human Rights Commission in May 2022, and he assumed this position on July 14th, 2022. 

On June 19, 2009, Mr. May wrote a book review called Islamic Imperialism or a Political History of Islam? in the C2C Journal. In the review Mr. May makes several Islamophobic statements such as, “Islam is not a peaceful religion misused by radicals. Rather, it is one of the most militaristic religions known to man,” and “Islam seems unable to make peace with its neighbours”. Mr. May’s views are steeped in bigoted stereotypes about Muslims and Islam that have caused real world harm to Muslims in Canada. In a time where Islamophobia is rampant in Alberta, and across Canada, a time when Muslim women wearing hijabs are targets of violence and mosques are sites of vandalism and worse, his views are dangerous. 

Mr. May occupies a position that is charged with fostering a more equal society. How can a person who holds such backwards views of Muslims be trusted by Albertans to foster equality or reduce discrimination of Muslims and other minorities? His appointment is not just disheartening—it is a signal to the Muslim and other Canadian minority communities that the discrimination they face is sanctioned in the highest halls of power in Alberta.

A person holding and expressing biased, and anti-religious opinions against a minority group in Canada should not be appointed to a quasi-judicial position, like the Chair of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, where his biased views and opinions will compromise his judgements on human rights cases he adjudicates upon. For this reason, Mr. Collin May is deemed unqualified for the position of the Chair of the AHRC, and from any position on the AHRC for that matter.

The Alberta Provincial government has made an unwise decision by appointing Mr. Collin May in his current position. Even more disappointingly, in almost one month since Mr. May’s comments came to light, no action has been taken by your government. In the mean time, Muslims across this province are growing angrier and angrier. This inaction is unacceptable. Mr. Collin May should be removed from the AHRC and kept away from any such position anywhere in Canada. No other action is acceptable.

This petition is started by Council of Muslim Organizations (CMO) established on July 19th 2022 and represents almost 85% of the more than 200,000 Canadian Muslims living in Calgary through its member organizations