Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident a national embarrassment, which would have sufficed. He later went off on a tangent about how the country should be guarded against Russian disinformation or something. The latter had nothing to do with the public relations fiasco that prompted Trudeau’s response.
Canada has been reeling from a moment in the House of Commons where the governing body saluted a Nazi. During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to parliament, Yaroslav Hunka, 98, was given a standing ovation. Hunka was part of a Waffen-SS unit during World War II.
NEW - Justin Trudeau blames Russian propaganda for Canadian Parliament honoring a Nazi.
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) September 25, 2023
"Obviously, it's extremely upsetting that this happened... this is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada...
It's going to be really important that all of us push… pic.twitter.com/Zvk5ytkxmC
Canada House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota apologized for the oversight while facing calls to resign. He relented and tendered the paperwork today (via Associated Press):
The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons resigned Tuesday for inviting a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II to Parliament to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president.
Just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an address in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Speaker Anthony Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.
Observers over the weekend began to publicize the fact that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.
“No one in this House is above any of us. Therefore I must step down as your speaker,” Rota said in Parliament. “I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognizing an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament of President Zelenskyy.
It’s not hard: when you salute Nazis, you lose your job.
Poland wants to extradite the Nazi who received a standing ovation in Canada’s parliament. The Trudeau government has finally succeeded in making me embarrassed to be a Canadian. https://t.co/fO7fVHIRIe
— Norman Levine (@NormanLevine100) September 26, 2023
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