Canada’s parliament, Trudeau, Zelenskyy give inadvertent ovation to Nazi war veteran

WORLD  26 September 2023 - 07:58

The Speaker of Canada's House of Commons, Anthony Rota, issued an apology on September 24 for mistakenly paying tribute to a man with a controversial past who had served in a Nazi military unit during World War II.

This incident occurred shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to the House of Commons on September 22, the Times of Israel reported.

Following Zelenskyy's speech, Canadian lawmakers gave a standing ovation to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka when Speaker Anthony Rota publicly acknowledged him.

Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who had fought with the First Ukrainian Division, also known as the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit under Nazi command.

In a statement, Rota expressed regret, saying, "In my remarks following the address of the President of Ukraine, I recognized an individual in the gallery. I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision to do so". He clarified that his fellow parliamentarians and the Ukrainian delegation were unaware of his plan to recognize Hunka.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies issued a statement, condemning the division's actions during WWII, stating that it was "responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable".

Caliber.Az