An Alberta man who is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to killing his two young sons took the stand on Monday during an inquiry into the boys' deaths.
Jason Cardinal told the court he suffers from mental illnesses and often answered "I don't recall" when questioned by inquiry lawyer Peter Duckett.
The inquiry was called to examine the events leading up to the deaths of six-year-old Caleb and three-year-old Gabriel.
The children were found strangled inside Cardinal's Edmonton home shortly before Christmas in 2010. Cardinal was also found suffering from self-inflicted wounds at the time.
When court resumed on Monday afternoon, Cardinal demanded that he be designated a "hostile witness" and said he won't answer any more questions.
"This is about one person gaining for a tragedy," Cardinal said.
Cardinal's mother also took the stand and became emotional when asked about the last time she spoke with her grandsons.
"That time for me as a grandmother is hard to remember and it is painful," Germaine Cardinal said. "No matter what is decided, it's not going to change the fact that they're gone."
The inquiry is expected to last all week.
Cardinal pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
At the time, the court heard that Cardinal had been planning a murder-suicide for weeks before the boys were found dead.
