Officials at a mosque north of Toronto are calling on the provincial and federal governments to take action after an alleged hate-motivated attack took place there last week.

The president of the Islamic Society of Markham wants to see Ontario pass legislation that would, among other proposals, expand educational resources that challenge Islamophobia and create a provincial hate crimes watchdog to review those types of investigations.

Speaking at news conference this afternoon, Qasir Nasir Khan also called on the federal government to address wait times for a program offering money for security upgrades at places of worhship, and to expand that program to include costs for third-party security.

York Regional Police are investigating the incident at the Islamic Society of Markham, which police say took place just after dawn prayers on Thursday during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

They allege a 28-year-old man came to the mosque in Markham, Ont., shouted Islamophobic slurs and drove his vehicle directly at a worshiper.

He is charged with one count each of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.

The mosque itself alleged the man went into the building, ripped up a Qur'an and delivered an Islamophobic rant.

Khan said Monday he recognized all levels of government had been "working hard to make life safe for all Canadians," but he said Muslims across the country had reason to be concerned. He made specific reference to the 2021 hate-motivated truck attack in London, Ont., that killed four members of a Muslim family.

"Make no mistake. We could have been at a funeral today," he said. "We will not be intimated. We will never stop in our mission of love and self-purification and trying to do the right thing."