The Speaker of the Canadian Parliament resigned on Tuesday following the scandal caused by his tribute to a Ukrainian veteran, who fought alongside the Nazis during the Second World War, during the recent visit to the country of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky .
“It is with a heavy heart that I take the floor to inform MPs of my resignation from my position as Speaker of the House of Commons,” Anthony Rota told his parliamentary colleagues.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions,” he continued, ensuring that his resignation will take effect Wednesday evening.
Last Friday, during Zelensky’s visit, Rota paid tribute to Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian immigrant.
He praised Hunka as “a Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran of World War II who fought for Ukraine’s independence against the Russians” and described him as “a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero ”, eliciting a standing ovation from lawmakers.
But Hunka actually served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, “a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the Holocaust are well documented,” according to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), an organization dedicated to educational programs. about these events and anti-Semitism.
The Jewish advocacy group called the incident “shocking” and “incredibly disturbing.”
The parliamentary recognition of Hunka “has caused suffering to individuals and communities, including the Jewish community in Canada and around the world, as well as to survivors of Nazism in Poland, among other countries,” Rota added in his message .
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly joined calls for the legislator’s resignation on Tuesday: “What happened on Friday is totally unacceptable.”
“It’s a shame for the House and for Canadians, and I think the president should listen to the members of the House and resign,” he told reporters at Parliament.
– Apologies –
First elected in 2004 under the liberal banner, Rota, 62, has been re-elected five times. Since 2019, he has been Speaker of the House, a key position in the Canadian parliamentary system, above party lines.
However, amid the scandal, several political movements had also urged Rota to resign.
The Liberal MP apologized on Sunday, saying he had “subsequently become aware of new information” which made him regret his comments on Hunka.
“This initiative was entirely mine…In particular, I want to apologize to the Jewish communities in Canada and around the world,” he said.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Rota’s comments shameful.
Leading opposition Conservatives criticized the Trudeau government for failing to properly investigate Hunka, although he claimed he did not know beforehand that he had been invited to the event.
Zelensky’s visit to Canada was the third stop on a tour aimed at building international support, following a speech at the United Nations and a visit to U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington.
For the FSWC, this incident “compromised the integrity of the 338 members of Parliament and also offered a propaganda victory to Russia”.
Russia in fact accuses the Ukrainian leaders of being “neo-Nazis” and alleges, as justification for the war, the need to “denazify” its neighbor.
The Canadian episode risks further fueling this rhetoric: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov also spoke of a “scandal”, Russian media report.
Tuesday evening, the Polish Minister of Education announced that he had ordered an investigation to determine whether this Ukrainian veteran who fought alongside the Nazis had not committed crimes in Poland, with a view to his possible extradition.
Canada is home to the second largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world and Zelensky, in his speech to Parliament, thanked kyiv for its support since Russian troops invaded Ukraine’s borders in February 2022.
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