The group’s president, Nicholas Marcus Thompson had called Melanie Mohammed’s appointment “disturbing” and “reckless.”
The Black Class Action Secretariat has apologized to a government official six months after publicly expressing its disapproval of her appointment to a senior role.
In April, the group of Black public servants, which has launched a class action lawsuit against the federal government for alleged systemic discrimination, published a press release stating that it was in “utter shock” that former Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) chief of staff Melanie Mohammed had been appointed the acting director general of the multiculturalism and anti-racism branch at the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Mohammed’s hiring came less than a month after the Treasury Board ruled that the CHRC, which deals with discrimination complaints, had itself breached the “no discrimination” clause of a collective agreement between the Treasury Board and the Association of Justice Counsel, the union for approximately 2,600 government lawyers.
The April release claimed that employees had reported “being harassed and facing retaliation” from Mohammed. It called on the government to rescind Mohammed’s appointment and issue an apology. The group also urged the feds to appoint someone with no connection to CHRC’s leadership.
Six months later, the group, and its president, Nicholas Marcus Thompson, have retracted their original statement and issued a new one, apologizing to Mohammed.
“The purpose of the press release was to highlight issues of systemic racism at the Canadian Human Rights Commission and ensuring that government appointments are consistent with addressing and combatting systemic racism,” the Oct. 15 release states. “Unfortunately, the Press Release could be fairly interpreted as being critical of Ms. Mohammed. For this, Black Class Action and Nicholas Thompson apologize unreservedly.”
Evening Update
The statement said that Mohammed “understands racism and is an advocate for racial equality and combatting systemic racism and discrimination. Her commitment to fighting anti-black or any other type of racism should not be questioned. She is also committed to upholding the highest values and ethics and she has upheld the public service’s ethics and values.”
At the time of the April press release, Mohammed declined to comment on the matter via her lawyer, Charles Daoust.
In June 2023, Mohammed filed a lawsuit against Thompson and the organization, claiming their statements were libellous and defamatory. The lawsuit said that BCAS’ statements contained “serious false allegations against her” and sought $50,000 in damages.
Daoust said the lawsuit has been settled “during confidential mediation to the satisfaction of all parties.”
“Ms. Mohammed, the plaintiff, will be discontinuing the action without costs,” he said in an email.
Noting that Mohammed is racialized, the claim said Mohammed didn’t have the opportunity to defend herself or respond to the allegations before they were published on the Black Class Action Secretariat’s website.
It also said the comments were published recklessly to “exact pressure, influence and gain leverage over the Government of Canada in the context of the Federal Court class action” and that the actions were “motivated by shameless and careless attention-seeking and greed and by jealousy.” The Black Class Action Secretariat’s lawsuit against the federal government was in Federal Court for more than two weeks for certification hearings that ended Thursday.
While Mohammed has been an employee of the federal public service for more than 17 years, the lawsuit said her “unblemished career has been derailed” and that her position as acting director general at Canadian Heritage had “become untenable.”
“The wide propagation of the libellous statements has also imperiled [sic] any future appointments within the federal public service and has severely hampered her efforts to pursue future work as a public servant,” the document said, adding that BCAS’ actions had also caused her to suffer embarrassment, loss of reputation and mental health issues.
In its statement of defence, the BCAS denied the allegations. Daoust said the lawsuit was settled on Oct. 9 and that Mohammed was not at “liberty to comment further on any terms of the settlement, as they are confidential.”
Thompson did not provide any additional comment.
The Canadian Heritage website, last updated on Oct. 29, lists Mohammed as the director general of community building and youth.
