October 11, 1983 - James Keegstra - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Alberta teacher James Keegstra’s license revoked for racist teachings. James Keegstra taught students at Eckville Junior-Senior High School in Alberta starting in 1968. In 1982, a parent objected to his teaching students that when Protestants ruled England, all was good, while Catholic rule was marked by drunkenness and atrocities. In fact, Keegstra went beyond that, teaching students that Jews were inherently evil and that the Holocaust was a hoax. On December 7, 1982, the school board voted to terminate his contract, prompting some students to launch a petition to reinstate Keegstra. The grade 12 student who started the petition said, “He teaches things like moral values. He’s against abortion. He’s a Christian. He believes the things that are in the Bible.” On October 11, 1983, Alberta’s education minister, David King, announced that he was revoking Keegstra’s teaching certificate, following the recommendation of the Alberta Teachers Association. In 1985, Justice McKenzie of Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench found Keegstra guilty of wilfully promoting hatred against Jews. The court imposed a fine against the former teacher of $5,000. Because the case pitted freedom of speech against promoting hatred, Keegstra’s case went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada twice. Twice over a 12-year period, juries convicted him as a criminal. His eventual sentence entailed one year’s probation and 200 hours of community service, with severe restrictions on his ability to promote hatred towards Jews. Shortly after Keegstra was stripped of his job and teaching certificate, a number of residents of Eckville demanded he step down as mayor, a post he held since 1979. He refused. However, in the election on October 17, 1983, with 92 per cent of the voters turning out, Keegstra was defeated by a vote of 278 to 123.

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