OTTAWA – Canada’s largest Muslim organization is asking the court to suspend a federal audit of its activities as a registered charity, arguing that the investigation is discriminatory and violates its constitutional rights.
The Muslim Association of Canada has filed a notice in the Ontario Supreme Court in an attempt to stop the Canadian Revenue Agency’s lawsuit, which began seven years ago.
The association, which promotes community service, education and youth empowerment, says more than 150,000 Canadians use its mosques, schools and community centers each year.
The association claims in the case file that since the audit of the revenue agency began in 2015, it has been “tainted by systemic bias and Islamophobia.”
The association said in a press release that although no decision had been made, the unannounced audit report threatened the charity with “extreme sanctions that are completely unjustified by the findings” of the revenue agency.
The revenue agency, which will have the opportunity to answer in court, said earlier that it does not select registered charities to audit based on a particular faith or denomination, adding that it is firmly committed to diversity, inclusion and anti-racism.
The challenge for the Muslim Association’s statutes will examine cases where the revenue agency has tried to apply standards to the association that would not be applied to any other religious community, said Jeff Hall, a lawyer for the charity.
“This audit is a textbook example of prejudice and discrimination.”
The association objects to several allegations by the revenue agency, including that:
– the activities of the association, such as the celebrations of Eid, are not religious, but rather social;
– its sports, social and leisure activities aimed at young people do not provide charitable benefits;
– there are alleged links between the association and foreign entities, a finding based on four emails from tens of thousands reviewed by the agency.
“In each of these examples and others, the CRA perceives such perfectly normal interactions as sinister and deceptive,” the press release said.
The court’s documentation states that the audit would never have been approached in this way if the organization in question had been linked to another major world religion.
The association emphasizes that the audit report did not find any evidence that the charity is involved in terrorist financing or is associated with terrorist organizations. “However, the audit report relies on Islamophobic sources and discredited newspaper articles to support its claims.
The appeal seeks an order suspending the audit on the grounds that it violates the guarantees of the statutes of the association for equality and freedom of religion, expression and association.
Alternatively, he wants the revenue agency to complete the audit in a way that does not violate the rights of the association.
Nearly 100 Muslim organizations and civil society groups sent a letter last summer to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging him to reform the agency’s audit practices, claiming they were unfairly targeting Muslim charities.
The groups also asked the Liberal government to overturn the revenue agency’s decision to suspend the ability of another Muslim charity, the Ottawa-based Human Concern International, to issue tax receipts.
Revenue Minister Diane Lebutilli agreed during a national summit on Islamophobia to ask taxpayer ombudsman Francois Boalo to systematically review concerns.
Preliminary meetings have been held with revenue agency officials and various countries, including charities, to understand their concerns and identify any problems, the ombudsman’s office said in a recent update.
More meetings are planned and charities are invited to answer an online questionnaire about their experience.
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