David Ahenakew, the disgraced former Assembly of First Nations Chief, is at it again.
This time he used the courts as a platform to have his voice heard. “Thousands of Canadian people – they should be answering questions about hatred towards Indians,” he testified.
Ahenakew is being charged in Saskatchewan court under the Criminal Code with spreading hatred towards Jews. He faces six months in jail if convicted.
Some of the comments that landed him in hot water while speaking to Saskatoon StarPhoenix reporter James Parker two years ago included calling Jews a “disease” and expressing support for the fact that Hitler “fried” six million of them during World War Two.
He later recanted, blaming medication, blood sugar levels and two glasses of wine.
“I didn’t want this to happen, but it happened,” he told the court. “I’m sorry for what I said and I will not do it again unless I’m absolutely forced to.” He did not elaborate on what that meant exactly.
He also blamed the reporter for misleading him. “He interrupted me, kept asking me questions,” he said. “He just kept on getting me angry and he knew I was angry.”