David Ahenakew has been stripped of his membership in the Order of Canada, effective immediately.

Governor General Adrienne Clarkson signed the revocation ordinance on Monday.

"Until now, the Advisory Council has refrained from public comment on the issue to allow all relevant facts to be made public and to avoid any suggestion or perception of interference in the judicial process," it said in a statement, "... the Council considers that his actions have brought disrepute to the Order."

David Ahenakew

Last week, a Saskatchewan court found the 71-year-old former head of the Assembly of First Nations guilty of promoting hatred.

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. He has a year to pay the fine.

The charges were connected with a 2003 incident during which Ahenakew told a reporter that Jews were "a disease," and tried to justify the Holocaust.

Ahenakew, who wore his Order of Canada to the court, says he will appeal the verdict and the sentence.