The scene had plunged all of Canada into “deep embarrassment”. Last Friday, during Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Ottawa, MPs from all parties, Justin Trudeau, his government and Volodymyr Zelensky, of Jewish faith, stood up in Parliament to applaud Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran. Except that the latter is accused of having fought in the SS, which the Canadian Parliament was unaware of.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented to MPs his “most sincere apologies” for “the situation in which President Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation were placed”. He notably described this tribute as a “terrible mistake” and a “violation of the memory of those who cruelly suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime”. The Prime Minister also indicated that Ottawa had already contacted kyiv and President Zelensky to apologize.
Anthony Rota “solely responsible”
Ottawa has been under pressure for several days in this affair described as “the greatest diplomatic embarrassment” in the country’s history by the leader of the conservative opposition, Pierre Poilievre. The Prime Minister, however, recalled that “the sole person responsible” was the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, who “accepted responsibility” and submitted his resignation on Tuesday.
It was the latter who had Yaroslav Hunka applauded, presenting him as a “Ukrainian hero”, coming from his electoral constituency. According to the Canadian Jewish community advocacy group, Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), Yaroslav Hunka served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the The Holocaust are well documented.