'There was a Nazi in the chamber': Tensions flare in the House over Speaker's recognition
CTV
Tensions flared in the House of Commons on Monday morning over opposition calls for House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to resign after apologizing to the House of Commons for inviting, recognizing and leading the chamber in a standing ovation for a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.
Tensions flared in the House of Commons on Monday morning over opposition calls for House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to resign after apologizing to the House of Commons for inviting, recognizing and leading the chamber in a standing ovation for a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.
The incident took place during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Friday address to Parliament.
After issuing an in-person apology to the chamber, Rota sat in the Speaker's chair to listen to MPs from all sides decry how damaging it was that he invited and drew the chamber's attention to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the First Ukrainian Division, a volunteer unit under Nazi command.
Government House Leader Karina Gould was first, saying that as a Canadian of Jewish origin and an MP who was photographed with the veteran in question, "this hurt all of us."
Gould called the recognition to be stricken from Parliament's record.
"As parliamentarians, we place our trust in you. There are many times when we recognize people in the gallery and we do so on your good advice," Gould said. "And all of us here did that in the chamber on Friday... I think this unfortunate situation has been deeply embarrassing for Canada's Parliament. I think it's been deeply embarrassing for Canada. And I think it was deeply embarrassing for the president of Ukraine."
Going a step further, NDP House Leader Peter Julian called Rota's error "unforgiveable," and put the entire House of Commons in "disrepute."
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