New guest guidelines circulating after MPs applauded man who fought for Nazis

Speaker Greg Fergus is looking to implement new guidelines for recognizing certain guests in the House of Commons, after MPs stood twice to applaud a man without knowing he had fought for a Nazi unit.

Speaker Greg Fergus is looking to implement new guidelines for recognizing certain guests in the House of Commons, after MPs stood twice to applaud a man without knowing he had fought for a Nazi unit.

Draft guidelines on the recognition of guests during a joint address of Parliament have been circulated to all House leaders and other officers of Parliament, said Mathieu Gravel, a spokesperson for Fergus.

"Feedback will be incorporated before the Speaker shares these guidelines with members," he said in a statement.

House leaders did not provide details of the draft guidelines, and Gravel said he cannot say more at this time.

Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, a voluntary unit created by the Nazis to help fight the Soviet Union, was welcomed to the House of Commons in September to hear a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Liberal MP Anthony Rota, who invited the 98-year-old Hunka and introduced him as a hero, resigned as Speaker over his decision. Fergus was elected to succeed Rota in October.

In his apology, Rota said he alone was responsible for the invitation and that neither the Prime Minister's Office nor the Ukrainian delegation had been aware of it.