Canada House Speaker’s Nazi veteran invite ‘profoundly embarrassing’ Trudeau says, as Rota faces calls to resign
By Rachel Aiello, Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter
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Toronto, Ontario (CTV Network) — Tensions flared in the House of Commons on Monday over opposition calls for House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to resign after apologizing to the House of Commons for inviting, recognizing and leading the chamber in a standing ovation for a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.
The incident took place during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Friday address to Parliament, and now the New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois say Rota should step down.
While letting Rota’s apology stand, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a “profoundly embarrassing” situation, and said he was thinking about the impact it is having on Jewish parliamentarians.
Speaking briefly to reporters on Parliament Hill, Trudeau did not take responsibility, saying that “it’s going to be really important that all of us push back against Russian propaganda, Russian disinformation, and continue our steadfast and unequivocal support for Ukraine.”
After issuing an in-person apology to the chamber first thing Monday morning, Rota sat in the Speaker’s chair to listen to MPs from all sides decry how damaging it was that he invited and drew the chamber’s attention to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the First Ukrainian Division, a volunteer unit under Nazi command.
Government House Leader Karina Gould was first, saying that as a Canadian of Jewish origin and an MP who was photographed with the veteran in question, “this hurt all of us.”
Gould called the recognition to be stricken from Parliament’s record.
“As parliamentarians, we place our trust in you. There are many times when we recognize people in the gallery and we do so on your good advice,” Gould said. “And all of us here did that in the chamber on Friday… I think this unfortunate situation has been deeply embarrassing for Canada’s Parliament. I think it’s been deeply embarrassing for Canada. And I think it was deeply embarrassing for the president of Ukraine.”
Going a step further, NDP House Leader Peter Julian called Rota’s error “unforgiveable,” and put the entire House of Commons in “disrepute.”
“Unfortunately, I believe a sacred trust has been broken. It’s for that reason, for the good of the institution of the House of Commons that I say, sadly, I don’t believe you can continue in this role. Regrettably, I must respectfully ask that you step aside,” Julian said.
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer focused his remarks on the overarching role and responsibility Trudeau’s office should have had in vetting any guest lists and making related security assessments, and what message this dropping of the ball sends to the world.
“The prime minister failed… There was a Nazi in the chamber. There was only one entity, one group that could have done anything about, it that could have flagged that,” Scheer said.
Scheer noted the incident—which he said could have been prevented with a “straightforward Google search”— has fed into Russia’s propaganda narrative about the “bogus justification for Putin’s illegal invasion.”
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Monday afternoon that Rota has lost the confidence of the House, and he should act responsibly and relinquish his role. Blanchet said he has sent a letter requesting a meeting with Rota and the leaders of all parties.
Speaking later to CTV News, in light of these calls to resign, Gould said she thinks Rota “needs to personally reflect about whether or not he can maintain the confidence of the house.”
ROTA’S ROLE, REMARKS, APOLOGY EXPLAINED Rota’s in-person apology on Monday echoed a similar one he made on Sunday in writing, taking full responsibility.
“My intention was to show that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not a new one; that Ukrainians have unfortunately been subject to foreign aggression for far too long now… I have subsequently become aware of more information, which causes me to regret my decision to recognize this individual. I wish to apologize to the House. I am deeply sorry that I have offended many with my gesture and remarks,” Rota said Monday morning in the House of Commons.
“I would also like to add that this initiative was entirely my own, the individual in question being from my riding and having been brought to my attention. No one, including you my fellow parliamentarians, or the Ukrainian delegation, was privy to my intention or my remarks prior to their delivery. “
After 35 minutes of remarks, Rota apologized again to every MP, saying his intention “was not to embarrass this House,” before moving the MPs into routine parliamentary business.
As Speaker of the House of Commons, while Rota has been a Liberal MP since his first election in 2004, the rules of the House of Commons require him to operate outside of partisan lines and at all times “show, and be seen to show, the impartiality required to sustain the trust and goodwill of the House.”
The controversy exploded over the weekend when it came to light that MPs from all parties, Trudeau and Zelenskky honoured this individual with cheers, salutes and applause.
“We have here in the chamber today a Ukrainian Canadian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at his age of 98,” Rota said on Friday. “I am very proud to say that he is from North Bay and from my riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming. He is a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service.”
On Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office placed responsibility for the incident on Rota, noting his office acts independently and was able to invite his own allotment of guests to Friday’s address at his sole discretion.
“The independent Speaker of the House has apologized and accepted full responsibility for issuing the invitation and for the recognition in Parliament. This was the right thing to do,” said PMO spokesperson Mohammad Hussain in a statement. “No advance notice was provided to the Prime Minister’s Office, nor the Ukrainian delegation, about the invitation or the recognition.”
PMO SAYS TRUDEAU DIDN’T MEET HUNKA Amid further questions about the level of vetting done, and whether, as social media posts from his family had suggested, Hunka, attended reception with Trudeau, the PMO confirmed on background Monday morning that Trudeau “did not meet this person, nor did he cross paths with him.”
The PMO said Trudeau did not attend any reception on the Hill, and to his office’s knowledge, there was no reception, noting a photo circulating of Hunka waiting in a reception hall, appears to have been taken in the Speaker’s office, not Trudeau’s.
Still, opposition parties are taking the position that Trudeau’s office shares the responsibility for what’s turned Zelenskyy’s historic visit to Parliament into an international incident.
“Based on what I’ve heard in the House today, I feel like this is the government trying to collectivise responsibility for an incident that was solely within their purview. By inviting the Ukrainian president to our country, we had a duty to protect him in all aspects,” said Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner.
“This is a time in which… our allies need to be standing with us. There should be no question about whether or not we have our act together, and yet here we are having this debate. It’s beyond an embarrassment. It is a stain on our country.”
Over the weekend, attendees took to social media to express their dismay and condemnation. Jewish advocacy groups also used their platforms, to call for an apology.
Representatives of the Jewish community in Canada called for the federal government to provide a full explanation of the vetting process undertaken that saw— as The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies put it—the House welcoming a member of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division “responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians.”
“We appreciate the apology issued… Proper vetting is imperative to ensure such an unacceptable incident does not occur again,” said The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) in a post on “X,” formerly known as Twitter, after initially posting that it was “deeply troubled and disturbed” about the incident.
“Canada’s Jewish community stands firmly with Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. But we can’t stay silent when crimes committed by Ukrainians during the Holocaust are whitewashed,” CIJA said.
Both Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh issued statements indicating they were not aware of Hunka’s history when attention was drawn to him in the House on Friday.
“New Democrats will be raising our concerns about how this was allowed to happen with the government directly,” Singh said, apologizing to the Jewish community.
“No parliamentarians (other than Justin Trudeau) had the opportunity to vet this individual’s past before he was introduced and honoured on the floor of the House of Commons. Without warning or context, it was impossible for any parliamentarian in the room (other than Mr. Trudeau) to know of this dark past,” Poilievre said, calling for the prime minister to “personally apologize.”
Trudeau is not scheduled to participate in question period on Monday, but Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to attend.
CTV News has reached out to Hunka and his family for comment.
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