Trudeau apologises for recognition of Nazi unit war veteran in Canadian Parliament

PM Trudeau apologises for Parliament's recognition of Nazi-linked man; Speaker resigns. Trudeau says mistake "deeply embarrassing" & "painful for Jewish people". Kremlin spokesman calls it "outrageous" & "false propaganda". Rota resigns after inviting & recognising Hunka without informing govt/Ukraine. Wiesenthal Centre calls it "stain on our country's legislature".

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologised on September 27 for Parliament's recognition of a man who fought alongside the Nazis during last week's address by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mr. Trudeau said the speaker of the House of Commons, who resigned Tuesday, was “solely responsible” for the invitation and recognition of the man but said it was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada.

“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,” Mr. Trudeau said before he entered 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.” Mr. Trudeau repeated the apology in Parliament.

Just after Mr. Zelenskyy delivered an address in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Speaker Anthony Rota drew attention to him. Mr. Rota introduced Mr. Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.

Observers over the weekend began to publicise the fact that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.

“It is extremely troubling to think that this egregious error is being politicised by Russia, and its supporters, to provide false propaganda about what Ukraine is fighting for," Mr. Trudeau said.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that the standing ovation for Mr. Hunka was “outrageous," and he called it the result of a “sloppy attitude" toward remembering the Nazi regime. Russian President Vladimir Putin has painted his enemies in Ukraine as “neo-Nazis,” although Mr. Zelenskyy is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust.