Lawmaker quits after man from Nazi unit is honored

Canadian speaker offers colleagues ‘profound regret’

OTTAWA — The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons resigned Tuesday after again apologizing for introducing a 98year-old Ukrainian who had served with a Nazi SS unit as a “hero” just after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine addressed a joint session of Parliament.

The speaker, Anthony Rota, introduced Yaroslav Hunka, a constituent from his electoral district, as “a Ukrainian hero, a

Canadian hero” on Friday prompting two standing ovations from the lawmakers and other guest as well as a fist pump from Zelensky, who is Jewish.

But over the following days, several Jewish groups expressed anger and outrage, saying that Hunka had been a member of a volunteer Nazi unit known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, which fought alongside Germany during World War II and declared allegiance to Adolf Hitler.

After days of calls for him to step down, Rota announced his resignation on a day when he was scheduled to host an annual garden party at his official country residence.

“This House is above any of us,” he told fellow lawmakers. “I reiterate my profound regret.”

Rota first apologized on the weekend for both his invitation and introduction of Hunka, noting that he “subsequently became aware of more information.”

The calls for him to step down first came from Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the left-of-center New Democratic Party. They accelerated Tuesday during the lead-up to a lunchtime meeting that Rota had scheduled with the leaders of all parties in the House of Commons.

Before Rota’s announcement, the deputy prime minister, the foreign minister, the industry minister, and the leader of the government in the House of

Commons all had told reporters that he should step down.

“What happened was completely unacceptable and a really, really damaging event,” the deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland, said. “I hope and believe the speaker will reflect on how serious and damaging this was and will do the honorable thing.”

She repeatedly said that the episode is particularly harmful for Jews in Canada and around the world, adding “it is also a painful situation for the people of Ukraine.”

Over the weekend, Rota said that he did not tell the governments of Canada or Ukraine about his plan to invite Hunka.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau offered no support for Rota and what he called his “deeply embarrassing” decision, but he also did not explicitly call for Rota to quit the speaker’s position.

“It is a good thing that Speaker Rota apologized personally, and I am sure he is reflecting now on how to ensure the dignity of the House going forward,” Trudeau said.

While Rota is a member of Parliament from Trudeau’s Liberal Party, he is not a political power broker like his counterpart in the US House of Representatives.

Speakers in the Canadian House of Commons act as nonpartisan referees in the chamber, independent of the government. The speaker, not the government, controls all activity and conduct in the chamber, as well as its employees.

That did not stop Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader whose party leads Trudeau’s Liberals in polls, from blaming Trudeau as well for the incident.

“Trudeau (and his Liberal Speaker) have brought shame on Canada,” Poilievre wrote in a social media post Tuesday. “The Liberal Speaker will have to resign.”

Before Rota made his announcement, several members of opposition parties in Parliament called on Trudeau to apologize on behalf of Canada to Jews, Ukraine, and the world in general.