A few days after publicly praising a former Nazi soldier in Parliament, the speaker of Canada’s House of Commons’ lower…
A few days after publicly praising a former Nazi soldier in Parliament, the speaker of Canada’s House of Commons’ lower chamber announced on Tuesday that he would step down. Russia claimed that this incident helped to legitimize its invasion of Ukraine.
When he invited 98-year-old ex-soldier Yaroslav Hunka to last Friday’s House session commemorating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Anthony Rota admitted to lawmakers that he had erred. Rota praised Hunka as a hero in front of the public.
After it was revealed that Hunka, who received two standing ovations from MPs, had served in one of Adolf Hitler’s Waffen SS regiments during World War Two, the speaker’s position quickly became unsustainable. The incident was deemed outrageous in Russia.
The Jewish community in Canada and around the world, among others, have suffered because of such public acknowledgment. Rota, a member of the governing Liberal party, said he accepted full responsibility for his actions and would quit on Wednesday. A deputy speaker will preside during the interim.
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The incident supported the narrative advanced by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he put his army into Ukraine last year in order to “demilitarize and denazify” the nation, a claim denied by Kyiv and its Western allies.
Zelenskiy’s visit was marred by the controversy, and during his speech, he praised Canada for the billions of dollars in aid and weapons it had given Russia since their invasion in February 2022.
Prior to that, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly urged Rota to step down, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged him to consider his options.
The scandal overshadowed Zelenskiy’s visit, and in his speech, he complimented Canada for providing Russia with billions of dollars’ worth of supplies and weapons since their invasion in February 2022.
Prior to that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly both pleaded with Rota to weigh his choices and resign.
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