Canada's House Speaker Apologizes for Praising War Veteran Who Fought For Nazis
Anthony Rota, the Speaker for the Canada House of Commons, has apologised for praising a Ukrainian war veteran who served in a Nazi unit during World War Two in a parliament session attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
During the session Mr Rota called war veteran Yaroslav Hunka, 98, who was in attendance a “hero”. The veteran also received two standing ovations. Hunka served in the First Ukrainian Division also known as the Waffen-SS “Galicia” Division, which was a volunteer unit under Nazi command.
Prime Minister Trudeau has called the incident “deeply embarrassing”, however there has been no call for Mr Rota to resign. Rota said in a statement on September 22nd that the decision to applaud Mr Hunka was his own and that since being made aware of more information he regrets his decision to do so. He also expressed sincere apologies to Jewish communities both globally and in Canada.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) responded to the apology, stating that they were “deeply troubled” that a veteran of the Nazi division has been celebrated by the Canadian Government. They have also added that proper vetting is imperative to ensure that this does not happen again.
Around 600 members of the division were allowed to live in Canada following World War Two, which has been a highly controversial topic in Canada as a result. The division was accused of killing Polish and Jewish civilians, but they have not been convicted of any war crimes.
