Speaker of Canadian House of Commons Steps Down After Controversial Invitation to WWII Veteran Linked to Nazi Unit

The Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, Anthony Rota, tendered his resignation on Tuesday after extending an invitation to a World War II veteran who had served in a Nazi-aligned unit to attend a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Parliament.

Last Friday, following President Zelenskyy’s address, Rota had directed attention to Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old veteran, whom he presented as a hero from the First Ukrainian Division. The lawmakers in the chamber subsequently gave Hunka a standing ovation.

Over the course of the weekend, it came to light that the First Ukrainian Division was also identified as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a unit that voluntarily served under Nazi command.

“I must relinquish my position as Speaker of this House, as no individual here holds a status above others,” declared Rota in a Parliamentary session. “I extend my deepest apologies for the mistake of acknowledging an individual during President Zelenskyy’s joint address to Parliament.”

Rota acknowledged that his actions had caused distress among various communities, including but not limited to, the Jewish community both in Canada and globally, as well as survivors of the Nazi regime in Poland and other countries. “I take complete accountability for my actions,” he further stated.

Following consultations with leaders of all the main opposition parties on Tuesday, Rota made the decision to step down. Government House leader Karina Gould announced that lawmakers had lost faith in the Speaker’s leadership. “This has been a dishonorable incident that has tarnished the reputation of Parliament and all Canadians,” said Gould, who herself is of Jewish descent and related to a Holocaust survivor.

It was revealed that Rota had invited Hunka without notifying the government or the Ukrainian delegation. The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies commented that the episode had severely damaged Canada’s international standing, stating that the incident “has compromised all 338 Members of Parliament and has also granted a propaganda win to Russia.”

The office of the Speaker indicated that the decision to invite Hunka was made unilaterally by Rota, who represents the district from which Hunka hails. The vetting procedure for gallery attendees was said to focus only on physical security threats, not reputational risks.

In Russia, Kremlin spokespeople termed the incident as “outrageous,” aligning it with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s narrative that depicts his adversaries in Ukraine as “neo-Nazis,” despite President Zelenskyy being Jewish and having lost family members during the Holocaust.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University, stated that the only beneficiary from this controversy is Russia. He argued that the incident could be used to justify Russia’s ongoing military activities in Ukraine.

While Canada’s opposition Conservatives have pointed fingers at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Béland clarified that the Speaker in Canada is an officer of Parliament, who neither attends partisan caucus meetings nor is a member of the Cabinet.

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More about Resignation of Canadian Speaker

• Canadian House Speaker Resigns Amid Controversy
• Details on Yaroslav Hunka’s Background
• Statement by Government House Leader Karina Gould
• Reactions from The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies
• Roles and Responsibilities of the Speaker of the House of Commons in Canada
• Russian Perspective on the Incident
• History of the First Ukrainian Division
• Vetting Process in the Canadian Parliament
• Canadian Opposition Parties’ Stance
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Speech in Canadian Parliament