Trudeau calls invite for Ukrainian who fought with Nazis 'deeply embarrassing'
Yaroslav Hunka fought in the 1st Galician division
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday the decision to invite a Ukrainian veteran who fought in a Nazi unit to a recent parliamentary event honouring Ukraine's president was "deeply embarrassing."
House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota is facing calls to resign from the NDP and Bloc Québécois after he extended an invitation to Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian Canadian who now lives in North Bay, Ont., to witness Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to Parliament on Friday.
The two opposition parties said it's not enough for Rota to apologize for inviting Hunka to the day's festivities.
Rota is expected to hold a meeting with the government and opposition House leaders at noon on Tuesday, sources tell CBC News.
The Bloc Québécois originally requested the meeting with Rota and the other parties' House leaders, according to a letter obtained by CBC News. The letter, from Bloc House leader Alain Therrien, said Hunka's invitation has created "a crisis of confidence without precedent" in the House of Commons.
Speaking briefly to reporters on Parliament Hill, Trudeau stopped short of calling for Rota to step aside from the role he's held since 2019.
"It's extremely upsetting that this happened. The Speaker has acknowledged his mistake and has apologized," Trudeau said.
"But this is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians."
Speaker apologizes
Trudeau warned that this event may fuel Russian propaganda. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the Ukraine conflict is about rooting out Nazis.
"I think it's going to be really important that all of us push back against Russian disinformation and continue our steadfast unequivocal support for Ukraine," Trudeau said.
Rota had praised Hunka, a constituent of his Nipissing–Timiskaming riding, as a "Ukrainian hero" and a "Canadian hero" and prompted a standing ovation for the man.
The Speaker apologized to MPs in person at the opening of Parliament on Monday.
Rota said he personally regrets inviting this constituent and giving him attention after Zelenskyy's remarks.
"I am deeply sorry I offended many with my gesture and remarks," he said. "This initiative was entirely my own.
"I want to really tell you that the intention was not to embarrass this House."
While Rota appeared emotional as he issued his statement, he offered no suggestion he intends to resign.
NDP MP Peter Julian, the party's House leader, said "regretfully and sadly" Rota cannot continue in his role after this incident.
"The Speaker has to be above reproach," he said. "This is an unforgivable error that puts the entire House in disrepute. Unfortunately, I believe a sacred trust has been broken."
CBC News reported Sunday that Hunka fought in the 1st Galician division, a branch of Nazi Germany's Waffen-SS, during the Second World War.
In a decade-old article in a Ukrainian-language magazine, Hunka recounted his time in the division.
"None of us asked what our reward would be … or even what our tomorrow would look like. We felt our duty to our native land — and left!" Hunka wrote.
A request for comment sent to Hunka and his relatives went unanswered.
Hunka has defended his war service in local media, describing it as part of a fight for Ukrainian independence.
PMO should have vetted guests, Conservatives say
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre placed the blame on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally, saying the Prime Minister's Office should have vetted a guest list drawn up by the Speaker.
He also blasted Trudeau for not showing up to question period to face the opposition.
"Canadians are sick and tired of a prime minister who never takes responsibility for the things that happen on his watch," Poilievre said, adding there's "constant international embarrassment" with Trudeau at the helm.
"He always finds someone else to throw under the bus. Are you that person?" Poilievre said while pointing to Rota.
Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, the party's House leader, said he doesn't accept that Rota alone was to blame for the invitation.
He said the Liberal government should have done a better job of vetting who was in attendance for Zelenskyy's speech.
The Speaker doesn't report to the Prime Minister's Office. While Rota is a Liberal MP, the Speaker is elected by all members of the House.
A spokesperson for the Speaker said Rota did not share his list of invitees with the Prime Minister's Office or any of the opposition parties before Friday's event.
The Speaker was allocated a set number of spots in the viewing gallery and the list of potential guests was shared with Parliament's Protocol Office, which co-ordinates the sending of invitations.
The names of confirmed guests are then passed on to the Corporate Security Office to "facilitate accreditation of guests," Amélie Crosson said in a statement to CBC News.
"This is a grave incident," said Scheer, who was House Speaker from 2011 to 2015.
"[Rota's] statement doesn't answer the questions around how this person was allowed to be in the chamber. A straightforward Google search will show he served in this particular division. If basic, rudimentary vetting as to who might be in the gallery isn't done — that's remarkable," he said.
"Many, many questions need to be answered. The Prime Minister's Office so completely dropped the ball on this."
House Leader 'deeply hurt'
Government House Leader Karina Gould said that as a Jewish person, she's deeply hurt by what happened.
"A majority of my family walked into Auschwitz-Birkenau and only my grandfather and his brother walked out," she said.
She said parliamentarians trusted the Speaker when he signalled to those assembled that Hunka deserved praise.
"We trusted you," she said to Rota. "I think this unfortunate situation has been deeply embarrassing for Canada's Parliament and for Canada. It was deeply embarrassing for the president of Ukraine."
Gould, a member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, stopped short of asking Rota to resign.
"I think it's very important that we collectively work together to strike this recognition from the record," she said.
Pushing back against Conservative claims, Gould stressed that Rota alone was responsible for the invitation.
"This was your initiative," she said addressing Rota in the chamber. "The government of Canada had no knowledge this individual was coming."
On Monday afternoon, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet issued a statement calling for Rota's resignation, saying his errors have caused damage and he has lost the confidence of the House.
Jewish groups are outraged that MPs, senators and dignitaries applauded Hunka.
"The fact that this individual, and by proxy the organization he was a member of, was given a standing ovation in the House of Commons is deeply troubling," Dan Panneton, a director with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, told CBC News.
"I think association with this unit makes you a Nazi collaborator. To be part of this unit, you swore allegiance to Hitler and you were involved with the massacre of civilians. So it doesn't matter if you try and claim that you were defending against communism, you were still involved with the Nazi war machine. That makes you complicit."
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