David Ahenakew, seen here leaving a Saskatchewan Court of Appeal hearing in 2007, is charged with wilfully promoting hatred. (CBC)

Former First Nations leader David Ahenakew appeared before a Saskatoon court on Monday at the start of his second hate crimes trial, where he is accused of wilfully promoting hatred against Jews.

Ahenakew, 75, was convicted under Canada's hate crimes legislation and fined $1,000 after he called Jews a "disease" and expressed support for Adolf Hitler's genocidal policies during an interview with a newspaper reporter in 2002.

The former head of the Assembly of First Nations and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations senate sat quietly during Monday's proceedings as the Crown described his remarks.

Ahenakew apologized after his comments sparked nationwide controversy and led to him being stripped of his Order of Canada.

During his first trial, Ahenakew said he still believed Jews caused the Second World War. Following the trial, he held a news conference blaming the Jewish lobby for his conviction and his removal from the order.

In 2006, a judge overturned Ahenakew's conviction and ordered a new trial, ruling the judge in the first trial erred because he didn't properly consider evidence that suggested did not intend to incite hatred.

The Crown lost another appeal and decided earlier this year to proceed with a second trial.

6-year legal battle an ordeal, lawyer says

Ahenakew's lawyer, Douglas Christie, told CBC News that his client has already suffered greatly from the six-year legal ordeal.

"We will, of course, fight this vigorously, as he has in the past," said Christie, who has previously defended Holocaust deniers Ernst Zundel and James Keegstra.

"He's overburdened by this, quite severely."

The new trial serves as a test case over the reach of Canadian hate law, said Ron Borgeault, a sociologist at the University of Regina.

"It's for the most part been used against people who are organized, like the extreme right wing," Borgeault told CBC News.

But for human rights groups, including B'nai Brith, the Ahenakew trial serves as a precedent to show how difficult it is to successfully prosecute those who commit hate crimes.

"What does it take to get a conviction for wilfully promoting hatred in Canada?" Steven Slimovitch, B'nai Brith Canada's national legal counsel, asked.

With files from the Canadian Press