Anthony Rota resigned this Tuesday from his post as speaker of the Lower House of Canada for causing one of the biggest scandals in the country’s parliamentary life. Rota announced this Tuesday afternoon that he was leaving office after multiple pressures. In question, the presence of a former member of a Nazi unit – and an ovation for this same person – during the parliamentary ceremony in honor of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Liberal Party of Canada MP Anthony Rota has presided over the House of Commons since 2019. On Friday, before President Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered their speeches in the legislative chamber, Rota said the following: “Today ‘Today we have in this House a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran of the Second World War who fought for Ukraine’s independence against the Russians and who continues to support the troops today, even in the age of 98. His name is Yaroslav Hunka,” adding that he was “a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero.” Visibly moved, Hunka received a standing ovation from the audience.

On Sunday, Jewish organizations in Canada, such as B’nai Brith Canada and the Friends of the Simon Wiesental Center, expressed dismay at the invitation, since Hunka had served in the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division during World War II. . Ukrainian volunteer unit involved in killing Jews and other minorities. Anthony Rota responded the same day, indicating that he was unaware of various elements of Hunka’s past and apologizing, particularly to “Jewish communities in Canada and around the world.” As Rota pointed out during Friday’s event, Yaroslav Hunka lives in the riding he represents as an MP (Nipissing—Timiskaming, in the province of Ontario).

Rota claimed in his message on Sunday that he was solely responsible for the incident, stressing that other parliamentarians, the prime minister’s office and Zelensky’s delegation were unaware of the invitation and the intention to ‘applaud Hunka. A day later, Rota reiterated his apology in the legislative chamber. “I cannot express how much I regret what happened,” he said. A few minutes later, the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party called for Rota’s resignation for an “unforgivable error that discredits the entire House.”

That same Monday, Prime Minister Trudeau called the incident “deeply shameful” for Parliament and all Canadians, but without calling for Rota’s resignation. Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, said Trudeau should take responsibility and personally apologize. The Russian and Polish embassies in Ottawa commented on social media about what happened in the Legislative Chamber.

This Tuesday morning, it was the turn of conservative deputies to demand Rota’s departure. Likewise, important figures in the Liberal government – such as Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and government leader in the Lower House, Karina Gould – stressed that resignation was the only alternative. Anthony Rota’s fate was cast. A few hours later, he declared at the start of Tuesday’s parliamentary session: “I take the floor to announce with great regret my resignation from my position as Speaker of the House of Commons.”

Canada sheltered many victims of the Second World War; also several collaborators of the Nazi forces. The case of Yaroslav Hunka is not the first to provoke reactions. In September 2021, Helmut Oberlander, former member of a Third Reich extermination unit, died at his home in Waterloo, Ontario. Since 1995, he had been waging a legal battle to avoid his deportation. This Tuesday, the Polish Minister of Education said he had taken steps to request the extradition of Yaroslav Hunka.

The impact of this incident on the image of the Trudeau government was not minor. Volodymyr Zelensky’s second visit to Canada – the second since the start of the Russian invasion – was marred by reactions to Hunka’s presence. Likewise, the scandal took place at a time when the press around the world described tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi due to the alleged involvement of Indian intelligence services in the assassination of a Sikh leader in Vancouver, a crime occurred last June.

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