Canadian House Speaker Anthony Rota has tendered his resignation after facing widespread backlash for honouring a World War II veteran, Yaroslav Hunka, during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent visit, the BBC reported. The controversy stems from allegations that Hunka had served in the “14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS,” a Nazi unit during the war. As a row erupted, Rota had apologised about the standing ovation given to Yaroslav Hunka.
The incident unfolded in the Canadian House of Commons, where Rota introduced 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, hailing from North Bay, Ontario, as a “war hero” during President Zelenskyy’s visit. The gesture prompted a standing ovation from those present in the chamber.
The move sparked immediate criticism from opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, who accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of personally meeting and honouring a veteran with connections to a Nazi division. Poilievre took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to express his outrage, stating, “Liberals then arranged for this Nazi veteran to be recognised on the floor of the House of Commons during the visit of the Ukrainian President.”
House Speaker Rota issued an apology over the incident, expressing deep regret for his actions. “He’s a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service,” Rota had said, before acknowledging the criticism and extending his apology to “Jewish communities in Canada and around the world.”
“In my remarks following the address of the President of Ukraine, I recognised an individual in the gallery. I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision to do so,” Rota stated in a released statement.
The controversy further escalated as the opposition called for a “personal” apology from Prime Minister Trudeau. Pierre Poilievre argued that without prior warning or context, other parliamentarians in the room had no way of knowing about Hunka’s controversial past.
“This is an appalling error in judgment on the part of Justin Trudeau, whose personal protocol office is responsible for arranging and vetting all guests and programming for state visits of this kind,” Poilievre asserted.
“No parliamentarians (other than Justin Trudeau) had the opportunity to vet this individual’s past before he was introduced and honoured on the floor of the House of Commons,” Poilievre added, emphasising that Trudeau must personally apologise rather than deflecting blame onto others.
