The Canadian Council of Imams (CCI) welcomes the far overdue report published by the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) titled The CRA’s Prejudiced Audits: Counter-Terrorism and the Targeting of Muslim Charities in Canada.
The CCI has been raising concerns about the CRA’s actions to target and undermine the integrity and reputation of respected leaders in the Muslim community as well the agency’s Islamophobic audit practices in general. The CCI has extensively spoken against the CRA’s approach to policing faith and its biased audit practices.
CRA approach for policing faith smacks of Islamophobia and should alarm everyone (Dr. Mohammed Iqbal Alnadvi, chairman of the CCI)
Canadians Should Not Accept Islamophobic Practices By The CRA (Imam Rashid Mohammed, Vice President of the CCI)
CRA case shows M103 motion has failed to address ‘Islamophobia’ in government (Imam Rashid Mohammed, Vice President of the CCI)
Many charities from our community have been expressing their concerns about the increasing number of audits conducted annually by Muslim charities. This report has finally substantiated the reality seen on the ground and shed light on this institutional discrimination and prejudice committed against the Muslim community for almost two decades now.
We support ICLMG’s recommendations in their report and call for the government to conduct a thorough and independent review. We call on the Minister of National Revenue to declare an immediate moratorium on the targeted audits of Muslim charities by the CRA’s Review and Analysis Division (RAD) until the review has concluded. Additionally, the Finance Ministry must revisit the problematic conclusions of the 2015 National Risk Assessment, and issue legislative and policy changes to ensure greater transparency and accountability going forward.
We call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take immediate action to stop such practices in the CRA.
Back in July 2019, the CCI submitted an official complaint against these practices by the CRA to the Charities Directorate Head, Tony Manconi. CCI got an acknowledgment that our complaint was received by the CRA but there have been no communications or follow-up since then.
Canadian Council of Imams
June 9th, 2021
