Canada House Speaker Apologizes For Honoring Nazi Veteran

Zaheer Hussain
September 26, 2023
221

In A Major Embarrassment For Ottawa, The Canadian Lawmakers Gave A Standing Ovation To A Man Who Was Introduced As A War Hero After Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Address In The House Of Commons Only To Later Realise That He Had Served In A Nazi Unit During World War II.

Canada House Speaker Apologizes For Honouring Nazi Veteran

Why In The News?

In A Major Embarrassment For Ottawa, The Canadian Lawmakers Gave A Standing Ovation To A Man Who Was Introduced As A War Hero After Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Address In The House Of Commons Only To Later Realise That He Had Served In A Nazi Unit During World War II.
The Speaker Of Canada’s House Of Commons Apologized For Recognizing 98-year-Old Yaroslav Hunka As A “Ukrainian Hero” Before The Canadian Parliament. Hunka Served In World War II As A Member Of The 14^th Waffen Grenadier Division Of The SS.

Who Is Yaroslav Hunka?

During World War Two, Mr Hunka Served In The 14^th Waffen SS Grenadier Division, Also Known As The Galicia Division – A Voluntary Unit Made Up Mostly Of Ethnic Ukrainians Under Nazi Command.
Division Members Are Accused Of Killing Polish And Jewish Civilians, Although The Unit Has Not Been Found Guilty Of Any War Crimes By A Tribunal.
The Unit Was Renamed The First Ukrainian Division Before Surrendering To The Western Allies In 1945.
The Division Mr Hunka Was Part Of Had Attracted Thousands Of Ukrainian Volunteers, Many Joining With Hopes They Could Achieve Ukrainian Independence.

What Do We Know?

Canadian Parliament Was Hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Hunka Was Sitting In The Gallery Of The House Of Commons When Mr Rota (Speaker Of Canada’s House Of Commons) Pointed To Him, Saying The Man Was “A Ukrainian Hero, A Canadian Hero, And We Thank Him For All His Service”.
Those Present In The Building Responded With Applause. Thousands Of Ukrainians Fought On The German Side During The War, But Millions More Served In The Soviet Red Army. Currently The House Speaker Is Facing Calls From Opposition Politicians To Resign.

What Were The Reactions?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Said This Was “Clearly Unacceptable.” “This Is Something That Is Deeply Embarrassing To The Parliament Of Canada And By Extension To All Canadians,” He Told Reporters.
A Jewish Advocacy Group Called The Incident “Shocking” And “Incredibly Disturbing”. Rota, A Liberal MP, Apologized, Saying That He Had “Subsequently Become Aware Of More Information” Which Caused Him To “Regret” His Recognition Of Hunka.

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Zaheer Hussain

Senior Lecturer General Studies, SSBCrackExams, Passionate Teacher, Masters in Public Administration, Expertise in Polity, History and Current Affairs. Loves Food and traveling Solo.