Hate crime charge goes ahead

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The Saskatchewan Justice department announced on June 11 that former national chief David Ahenakew has been charged with spreading hate, a criminal offence. Last year, the former Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations senator made anti-Semitic statements during a public speech, allegedly breaking Section 319(2) of the Criminal Code.

Ahenakew could not be reached for comment, but Windspeaker has learned Ahenakew has hired well-known lawyer Alan Gold to launch a defence. Current National Chief Matthew Coon Come, who condemned the comments and met with many Jewish leaders to assure them that Ahenakew's comments were not widely held beliefs in the Native community, wondered if charging the former leader is the right move.

"I'm not the prosecutor and of course it's up to the judge to determine whether he broke the law or not," he said. "But I question whether this is the wise thing to do. Maybe it isn't necessary because I think it could give an opportunity to the holocaust deniers, the Nazi groups, the white supremacists, all the rednecks get a platform. I think it could be turned into a real road show. It's going to be very unfortunate."