Ontario Government Takes Much Needed Step and Provides Security Guard Funding To Religious Institutions At Risk In Line with NCCM Ask

NCCM welcomes today’s announcement by the Government of Ontario to expand the Ontario Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant.

The $25M increase in finding is a necessary step towards helping a large number of cultural and faithbased organizations across the province to beef up their facilities’ security against possibly hateful actors and crimes.

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The commitment also expands the list of eligible community organizations that can apply, as well as the kinds of security related items that can be expended. Most importantly, the new grant allows for masajid to hire third party security guards to keep their places safe.

These are all critical steps toward a province that takes the protection of its marginalized communities seriously. Canada has seen steady increases in police reported hate crimes in recent years. The number of these crimes against Muslims jumped 71% from 2020-21. This past Ramadan, as Muslims returned to their mosques en masse, we saw an increase in vehicular attacks toward mosques and congregants, among other incidents.

“In Ontario, we have seen mosques vandalized and attacked. Just a few weeks ago in Ramadan, we stood with the Islamic Society of Markham in calling for security guard funding at our masajid,” said NCCM CEO Stephen Brown.

“We are greatly appreciative that the province has taken swift action in responding to that ask. While more needs to be done, this is a very positive start to the process.”
Moreover, the tragedies of the 2021 attack against #OurLondonFamily, as well as the 2020 IMO Mosque attack, are fresh and painful reminders for our leaders to step up and help the Muslim community protect itself.

To that effect, the Anti-Hate Security and Prevention Grant is a big step in the right direction. We look forward to working with all stakeholders on the journey toward a safer Ontario for all citizens.

Send a letter to the Ontario government today to thank them for hearing our request and moving swiftly to take action.

To send a letter using NCCM's form, click here

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