On 26th September, Canada’s Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, resigned after facing backlash over celebrating Nazi soldier Yaroslav Hunka. In his address to the House while resigning, Rota said he had made a mistake. Interestingly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all the Canadian MPs threw Rota under the bus after being globally criticised for celebrating a Nazi in the Parliament despite the fact that Canada has a long history of housing Nazi war criminals.
Speaker Anthony Rota RESIGNS following Nazi veteran debacle:
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 26, 2023
"I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognizing an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament of President Zelensky." pic.twitter.com/vXRloA4y7j
“I have acted as your humble servant, carrying out the important responsibilities of this position to the very best of my abilities. The work of this House is above any of us. Therefore, I must step down as your Speaker. I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognising an individual in the House.”
It was with a heavy heart that I informed the House of Commons of my resignation as Speaker. It has been my greatest honour as a parliamentarian to serve as Speaker in the 43rd and 44th Parliaments. Read my statement here: https://t.co/rPs3ujmDVI
— Speaker of the HoC (@HoCSpeaker) September 26, 2023
He added that his actions have “caused pain to individuals and communities,” including Jewish people, Poles and “other survivors of Nazi atrocities.” As Rota has resigned from the post, the MPs must pick another presiding officer soon to ensure the House of Commons can continue its function. Till a new speaker is elected, the deputy speaker will serve the house.
Justin Trudeau’s government threw the Speaker under the bus
On 24th September, Canadian Parliament speaker Anthony Rota apologised for celebrating a Nazi, Yaroslav Hunka, who had participated in the genocide against Jews during World War II. In his statement, Rota claimed that he was made aware of more information on Hunka that “caused” him to regret the decision to celebrate him. Furthermore, he claimed no one in the Parliament or among the Ukrainian delegation was aware of his intentions to celebrate Hunka during his address. As he apologised for the “mistake” everyone in Trudeau-led government threw him under the bus and washed their hands from the matter.
Trudeau said, “Obviously, it is extremely upsetting that this happened. The speaker has acknowledged his mistake and has apologised. But this is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and, by extension, to all Canadians. I think particularly the Jewish MPs and all members of the Jewish community across the country commemorating Yom Kippur today.”
In the same breath, he also blamed Russia for the mistake Canada’s Parliament made. He added, “I think it’s gonna be really important that all of us push back against Russian propaganda and disinformation and continue our steadfast and unequivocal support for Ukraine as we did last week by announcing further measures to stand with Ukraine in Russia’s illegal war against it.”
Poland sought extradition of Nazi soldier Yaroslav Hunka
On 26th September, Poland upped its ante against Canada for honouring the Nazi war criminal, Yaroslav Hunka, and giving him a standing ovation in their Parliament on 22 September. Notably, the Polish ambassador to Canada lambasted the Canadian government for missing out on mentioning the Polish people in their apologies and asserted that neither Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nor the Parliament speaker Anthony Rota has done enough on this issue.
Additionally, the Polish Minister of Education and Science, Przemysław Czamek, wrote a letter to Karol Nawrockl, President of the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation, Warsaw and informed that he is taking steps to seek Hunka’s extradition to Poland.
Canadian Parliament celebrated Nazi soldier
On 22nd September, the Canadian House of Commons gave a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, a former Nazi war criminal. Speaker of the House, Anthony Rota, introduced him as a hero who fought for Ukraine’s freedom from Russia. The 98-year-old war veteran, however, was a member of a SS unit, the 14th SS-Volunteer Division “Galicia”, established in 1943 by the Nazis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also present during the occasion.
Notably, SS was the main paramilitary group under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany and was primarily responsible for tunning Holocaust operations. 14th SS-Volunteer Division Galicia was made up of volunteers, which means that Yaroslav Hunka joined the unit on his own will, and was not conscripted.
