The Jewish organization B'nai Brith Canada is suing the Canadian government for failing to crack down on the fundraising efforts of the militant group Hezbollah.

The group launched a lawsuit Friday in an effort to force Ottawa to freeze the assets of the Lebanese-based terrorist organization. The suit alleges that Ottawa has "a duty at law" to ban Hezbollah's fundraising in Canada.

"Canadians can no longer tolerate the progress of a government moving at a snail's pace in dealing with organizations and groups bent on the destruction of western civilization," said Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of B'nai Brith.

Dimant said that members of Hezbollah "proudly" walked through the streets of Toronto during protests against former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visited the city in September.

Canada currently bans the military wing of Hezbollah, but not the entire organization. The suit seeks to force Ottawa to ban Hezbollah outright in Canada.

David Matas, Senior Legal Council for B'nai Brith, said his group sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham in July asking Ottawa to blacklist Hezbollah, but his department refused.

B'nai Brith wants the courts to order the government to place Hezbollah on a list of "terrorist entities" so that the group's assets could be frozen.

"If you're saying part of it is exempt from the law, in effect you're saying all of it is exempt from the law because obviously once part of it is exempt from the law, then that part can be a channel for the rest," Matas said.

Graham has said that Hezbollah supports humanitarian, social and medical efforts through the Palestinian territories. Critics charge the group has supported a series of deadly attacks against Israeli citizens.

According to reports issued by the RCMP and CSIS, Hezbollah has a significant presence across Canada and has been using it as an off-shore base for more than a decade.

A Canadian citizen, Fauzi Ayub, was recently arrested in Israel and faces charges that he was sent to the country by Hezbollah to organize terror attacks.

Earlier this week, Solicitor General Wayne Easter added six groups including Hamas to a list of banned terrorist organizations, but not Hezbollah. The United Nations lists both Hamas and Hezbollah on its register of 200 groups linked to terror.

Easter said Ottawa had been reluctant to add Hezbollah to its Criminal Code list because of its charitable arms. Officials feared many people with no terrorist links could face jail time for simply supporting charitable causes.

"This is an issue where we take away certain rights, where we seize assets and accuse people of knowingly being involved in terrorist organizations," Easter said. "We cannot take that listing lightly.

"The decision to list an entity is a very serious one and listing carries severe consequences, not only for terrorists, but also for their supporters."

Easter said Canadian security agencies will continue to monitor Hezbollah's activities and that the group could be added to the list in the future.