TORONTO — Many in Canada's Tamil community are angry with Ottawa's move to label one of its organizations a terrorist group.

Stockwell Day, the minister of public safety, says the World Tamil Movement, which collected money that ended up in the hands of the Tamil Tigers, is now on a list of terrorist groups.

The group, which also had its assets frozen, is designated for helping terrorist activity and for acting on behalf of the terrorist group.

David Poopalapillai from the Canadian Tamil Congress, which is not affiliated with WTM, says the the government was punishing an entire organization instead of a few individuals.

He says if someone in the WTM broke the law they should be punished, but not the entire organization.

The organization has been known for canvassing Tamil populations demanding donations, sometimes by using aggressive intimidation tactics to get the money.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting a rebel war in Sri Lanka since 1983 and many groups outside of Sri Lanka have been raising money to support the conflict.