Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologised for the Canadian Parliament’s recognition of a man who fought for a Nazi unit during World War II, an incident that drew global condemnation and was termed by the Opposition as the “biggest single diplomatic embarrassment” in the country’s history.
Trudeau also mentioned that Ottawa had already used diplomatic channels to apologize to Kyiv and Zelenskiy.
READ ALSO: Niger Junta: French Ambassador Departs Country Following Expulsion
Anthony Rota, who publicly acknowledged veteran Yaroslav Hunka in the House last Friday and called him a hero, quit as speaker of the chamber on Tuesday and said he bore sole responsibility for what happened. Hunka, a 98-year-old Polish-born Ukrainian, had served in one of Adolf Hitler’s Waffen SS units during World War Two before immigrating to Canada.
Russia contends that this incident supports its claim that the war in Ukraine is aimed at “denazifying” the country, a charge that Kyiv and Western allies dismiss as unfounded.
“On behalf of all of us in this House, I would like to present unreserved apologies for what took place on Friday and to President Zelenskiy and the Ukrainian delegation for the position they were put in,” Trudeau told the House on Wednesday.
“For all of us who were present to have unknowingly recognized this individual was a terrible mistake and a violation of the memory of those who suffered grievously at the hands of the Nazi regime.”
The Kremlin earlier in the day said the whole Canadian parliament should publicly condemn Nazism.
“It is extremely troubling to think that this egregious error is being politicized by Russia and its supporters to provide false propaganda about what Ukraine is fighting for,” Trudeau said in earlier remarks to reporters.
Hunka resides within Rota’s parliamentary district. Trudeau clarified that the Liberal government was not responsible for screening the guests invited by the speaker.
The opposition Conservatives argue that Trudeau bears ultimate responsibility for the situation since he had invited Zelenskiy to speak before the Canadian parliament, and they accuse him of negligence.
