James Keegstra (1934–2014) was a public high school teacher in Eckville, Alberta, who began in the position in 1968.

[6] In 1984, he was charged under section 281.2(2) of the Criminal Code that he "..did unlawfully promote hatred against an identifiable group, to wit: the Jewish people, by communicating statements while teaching to students at Eckville High School.

Keegstra held anti-Semitic views and believed in a Jewish conspiracy bent on world domination and annihilating Christianity.

He asserted that the current historical information being taught in universities and schools is a trap set by the Jews to mislead the public.

As Dickson CJ explained, using sections 15 and 27 in this way would contradict "the large and liberal interpretation given the freedom of expression in Irwin Toy" and moreover, "s. 1 of the Charter is especially well suited to the task of balancing".

When the matter returned to the Alberta Court of Appeal, that Court held that based on the original submissions, it would have also allowed Keegstra's appeal on the basis that the trial judge had not allowed Keegstra to challenge jurors for cause based on pre-trial publicity.

Townsfolk of Eckville declared that this was unfair treatment thrust upon the entire town due to the actions of one man.

The Alberta Teachers' Association had modified its code of ethics in order to prevent any hate crime against an ethnic group.

This included the right to protect the self-respect of any individual or group regardless of any prejudgment to race, religion, age or other physical characteristics.

James Keegstra never abandoned his anti-Semitic beliefs, despite the accusations and faults found in his teachings against Jews.

[14] The 1988 American made-for-TV film Evil in Clear River dramatizes a very similar story of a Holocaust-denying high school teacher in small-town Alberta who is prosecuted under section 281.2(2).