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Former Alberta human rights chair serves province $2.1M wrongful dismissal lawsuit

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Alberta's former human rights commission chief has filed a lawsuit against the justice minister for "malicious treatment" and wrongful dismissal.

In September, Collin May's appointment as head of the provincial human rights body was rescinded by a cabinet order following an open letter from the Muslim community concerned with a book review he published that has been called Islamophobic.

May first joined the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunals (AHRC) as a commissioner in 2019. He was appointed chief of the commission in May 2022 by a cabinet order.

On Tuesday, he filed the lawsuit alleging the province breached its contractual obligations and engaged in a "bad faith" dismissal.

May is seeking $1.12 million in damages for breaching his employment contract early, a public declaration recognizing he was wrongfully terminated, and the costs of the suit. Additionally, May believes he is entitled to a further $1 million for moral and punitive damages.

"Minister (Tyler) Shandro's office wrongfully terminated the plaintiff (May) without notice," the statement of claim reads. "The minister's office did not explain to the plaintiff the reason, and to-date, no reason has been given to him."

May's legal counsel, Kathryn Marshall, told CTV News Edmonton in an interview that he had a five-year fixed-term contract as chair of the commission, affording him due process and rights as an employee of the province.

"(People) assume he's just an appointment to serve at the pleasure of government, but he actually had a really comprehensive employment agreement," said Marshall, who specializes in employment law, human rights, and civil litigation at Toronto firm Levitt Sheikh LLP.

Marshall said May cooperated with the province's requests to meet with Muslim stakeholders and hosted consultations. In her view, May's firing was "surprising" and "misleading."

In the claim obtained by CTV News Edmonton, May was informed of his termination by letter on Sept. 15 under a clause addressing resignations.

According to the claim, Shandro's office demanded his resignation three days earlier.

May says he never resigned from his position since he "had done nothing wrong."

Marshall says May first learned of both the province's intention of seeking his resignation and then his ultimate termination through media reporting.

In the suit, May also alleges the AHRC was a "poisoned work environment" during his brief tenure as chief and that he was subject to interference from Shandro's office.

"It was clear from his first day on the job that the plaintiff had been set up to fail," the statement of claim says.

Marshall believes the book review was something the Alberta NDP "peddled" to smear his character.

"He is not Islamaphobic at all," Marshall said. "Ultimately, the book review was being misrepresented by various groups and individuals."

The claim says May suffered "significant mental and physical distress due to the unconscionable, malicious, and vicious actions and inactions taken by the defendant."

According to the statement of claim, May says his dismissal led to the University of Calgary Cummings School of Medicine cancelling an opportunity for him to co-teach a course this fall.

The province has 20 days as the defendant to respond. None of the claims have been tested or proven in court. 

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