Trudeau issues apology for standing ovation to Nazi veteran in Canadian Parliament

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued an apology on Wednesday (Sept 27)regarding Parliament's recognition of a manassociatedwith the Nazis during last week's address by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trudeau specifically held the resigned Speaker of the House of Commons responsible for extending the invitation and granting recognition to the man. He acknowledged it as a regrettable mistake that has deeply embarrassed both the Canadian Parliament and the country as a whole.

“All of us who were in the House on Friday regret deeply having stood and clapped, even though we did so unaware of the context,” Trudeau said before entering the House of Commons.

“It was a horrendous violation of the memory of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust, and was deeply, deeply painful for Jewish people,” he added.

Trudeau repeated the apology in Parliament, reported the Associated Press.

Standing ovation for controversial figure

During Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent address in the Canadian House of Commons, Canadian lawmakers delivered a standing ovation to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka when Speaker Anthony Rota introduced him as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.

Subsequently, it was revealed that the First Ukrainian Division, to which Hunka belonged, was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division. This informationraised significant controversy as it was a voluntary unit under Nazi command.

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Political fallout

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed deep concern over the incident, asserting that it should not be exploited by Russia or its supporters for false propaganda regarding the military intervention in Ukraine.

Also watch |Canada parliament speaker resigns amid row over praising Nazi veteran

Moscow's response, led by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, criticised the standing ovation as "outrageous" and indicative of a "sloppy attitude" towards acknowledging the Nazi regime.

"Canadian authorities have a duty to bring to justice -- or to extradite to those who wish to bring to justice -- this criminal," Peskov said.

Poland said that it was looking at extraditing the veteran and investigating Yaroslav Hunk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously labelled his Ukrainian adversaries as "neo-Nazis," despite President Zelensky's Jewish heritage and family history related to the Holocaust.

In response to growing criticism and calls for his resignation, Speaker Anthony Rota stepped down from his role. House government leader Karina Gould stated that Rota's failure to inform the government or the Ukrainian delegation and his lack of due diligence had eroded trust among lawmakers.

(With inputs from agencies)

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