Thank you to all of you who came and shared your perspective with us. We're enriched by your insights. I know you come from different backgrounds, so that is very helpful.
Mr. Gardee, I'd like to start with you, because I think Canadians are hoping that moderate Muslims—and the majority of Muslims in Canada are moderate Muslims—will join and raise their voices against jihadism, jihadi terrorism, because, as you rightly say, that is a real threat here in Canada. I think your perspective on partnering with others in society in addressing the issue of the radicalization of our young people would be very welcome.
The question I have for you, though, will not surprise you, because as you know, there's a continuing series of allegations about your organization and its ties to your American counterpart. Why does this matter? It matters, as you know again, because your American counterpart has often supported radical views and publicly endorsed Islamist terrorist groups, including Hamas.
I'm sure you're familiar with some of these allegations, and I'm sure you're familiar with many more, but I'll put a couple on the record.
As you know, David Harris, who is a counterterrorism expert and director of the international terrorist intelligence program at Insignis Strategic Research, testified before a Senate committee in the U.S. saying that your organization was really the Canadian wing of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Your own director, your own leader, Sheema Khan, swore in an affidavit in the Ontario Supreme Court in 2003 saying that your organization was under the direction and control of the American organization. Point de Bascule, a Quebec-based Islamist watch group, details a chronology of an operating relationship between a Hamas front group and your organization.
As you also know, two of your board members, who were board members for over a decade, were also on the board of the Muslim Association of Canada, and while they were on the board, the Muslim Association of Canada put out a news release openly endorsing Hamas. This was a year after Hamas had been listed by the Government of Canada as a terrorist organization.
I think it's fair to give you an opportunity to address these troubling allegations, because in order to work together, there needs to be satisfaction that this can't be a half-hearted battle against terrorism.
Where do you stand in light of these allegations?