Next thing you will be suggesting that Indians are pro-Nazi and anti-semitic.
Ahenakew lawyer says controversial conversation was private
CBC News
The appeal of First Nations leader David Ahenakew – convicted of willfully promoting hatred against Jews – is really about the definition of a private conversation, claimed his lawyer.
Arguing before Saskatchewan's Court of Queen's Bench on Monday, lawyer Doug Christie said the conversation between his client and a reporter that led to Ahenakew's conviction was private.
Christie said his client, the former head of the Assembly of First Nations, was upset his remarks had been published. He told the court that if Ahenakew meant to spread hate, he would have enjoyed seeing his statements in print.
In December 2002, Ahenakew answered a reporter's question by suggesting that the Holocaust was a good thing and praised Adolf Hitler for having "fried" six million Jews during the Second World War.
The 72-year-old later apologized, but was convicted of promoting hatred.
The Canadian Jewish Congress, which has intervener status at the appeal, maintains Christie's argument threatens the integrity of Canada's hate laws.
The appeal is expected to last two days.
Ahenakew spoke with a journalist from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix after giving a speech to the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations in which he said Jews started the Second World War.
"The Jews damn near owned all of Germany prior to the war. That's how Hitler came in," Ahenakew said in the taped interview.
During his trial last year, Ahenakew said his statements were based on what Germans had told him when he served overseas in the Canadian military. He also blamed his outburst that day on feeling ill from high blood sugar and drugs taken to treat diabetes.
Saskatchewan provincial court Judge Marty Irwin fined Ahenakew $1,000. The amount was appropriate to prevent him from becoming a "martyr" for racists and bigots, Irwin said.
While Ahenakew could have been given jail time, government prosecutors had only sought a $2,000 fine.
In July 2005, Ahenakew was stripped of his membership in the Order of Canada.
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