Canada’s parliament speaker apologises after honouring Nazi veteran

The Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons has apologised after a person who was part of a Nazi unit was invited to an event in the chamber in Friday in honour of visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The apology came after outrage was expressed by Jewish groups after 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka was welcomed to the House by Speaker Anthony Rota as a “a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero” to applause from MPs, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

It later emerged that Hunka was part of the Nazi-led Waffen-SS Galicia Division, also know as the SS 14th Waffen Division and later First Ukrainian Division, which battled Soviet troops during World War II.

In a statement, Rota said, “On Friday, September 22, in my remarks following the address of the President of Ukraine, I recognized an individual in the gallery. I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision to do so.”

“I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. I accept full responsibility for my actions,” he added.

Opposition leader Conservative Pierre Poilievre attacked the prime minister, as he said, “This is an appalling error in judgement on the part of Justin Trudeau, whose personal protocol office is responsible for arranging and vetting all guests and programming for state visits of this kind.”

“Mr Trudeau must personally apologize and avoid passing the blame to others as he always does,” Poilievre added.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said earlier “deeply troubled & disturbed” that Hunka “was celebrated with a standing ovation in the Canadian Parliament.”

In a statement, it added, “Canada’s Jewish community “stands firmly” with Ukraine. “But we can’t stay silent when crimes committed by Ukrainians during the Holocaust are whitewashed.”

After Rota’s apology, CIJA posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Proper vetting is imperative to ensure such an unacceptable incident does not occur again.”

In another statement, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) said, “The fact that a veteran who served in a Nazi military unit was invited to and given a standing ovation in Parliament is shocking.”

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