Ex-Nazi soldier applauded in the Commons | President Anthony Rota resigns

(Ottawa) Abandoned by all parties in Ottawa, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, has finally resigned himself to leaving his chair. The political and diplomatic storm that he triggered by inviting a former Nazi soldier to Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech got the better of him.

He made the announcement before question period on Tuesday. ” I have to leave [mon poste]because the work of this House is greater than each of us,” he declared, reiterating his “deep regret” for having invited Yaroslav Hunka.

But above all, he made the announcement when he had been pushed to his limits.

Because his fate had been sealed a few hours earlier, the Trudeau government as well as the conservative opposition joining their voices to the calls for his resignation launched the day before by the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois.

Government House Leader Karina Gould on Tuesday called on the president to resign. “I don’t see, given the conversations I’ve had, that he would have the support of the Liberals, and I think it’s time for him to do the honorable thing,” she said before the cabinet meeting.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, had these words: “We have been embarrassed as Canadians, and it is certainly an embarrassment for the House of Commons as well. And I think the Speaker of the House should listen to the members and resign. »

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for his part, refrained from making such a request on Tuesday, contenting himself with reiterating that last Friday’s event had been “deeply embarrassing”, while saying he was “certain” that Anthony Rota was ” thinking [à la suite des choses] “.

Once the government’s support was withdrawn, the Conservative Party fell into the same camp. “Trudeau (and his Liberal President) have brought shame on Canada. The Liberal President will have to resign,” wrote leader Pierre Poilievre on the social network X on Tuesday.

The Speaker of the House of Commons is an impartial arbiter of parliamentary proceedings. While it is true that Anthony Rota was elected under the liberal banner, his position requires him to be non-partisan when he is in his chair.

The Conservative leader nevertheless used the same expression – “liberal president” – during question period in the House, which was led by Chris d’Entremont.

With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not present at the session, it fell to Minister Karina Gould to respond to criticism from the opposition parties regarding the management of this affair, which the Conservatives and the Bloc did not respond to. no intention of giving up.

The two parties believe that the president’s resignation is not enough and demand that the Prime Minister present an apology on behalf of the Canadian government to the Jewish communities, allied countries as well as President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Historic resignation

The president’s resignation will take effect on Wednesday, at the end of the working day.

The departure of Mr. Rota will disrupt parliamentary work, because the first subject on the agenda of any Parliament is to elect a president. It will therefore be necessary to put the current calendar on ice until the deputies choose a new arbiter, who normally comes from the government benches.

Bloc Québécois MP Louis Plamondon will become interim president until a new president is elected next week, in accordance with a motion adopted by the House of Commons Tuesday evening.

Mr. Plamondon, who was first elected in 1984 in Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, is the dean of the House, which means that he is the oldest member.

Liberal MP Alexandra Mendès and conservative MP Joël Godin, who both tried to get elected in 2021, confirmed Tuesday to The Press that they expected to be back on the starting blocks.

The resignation of a Speaker of the House of Commons is historic. Never in history has a president appointed by his peers been forced from office.

Since 1986, the president has been elected by the deputies. He was previously appointed by the Prime Minister.

The position of president comes with an official residence located in Gatineau Park, in Outaouais. Ironically, a reception for MPs and media representatives was to be held there late Tuesday. It was canceled after Mr. Rota’s announcement.

The National Assembly dissociates itself from the House of Commons

Anthony Rota found himself at the center of a scandal after it was revealed that Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old veteran from his constituency whom he had invited to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech, was part of a Nazi unit during World War II.

Histoire de clarifier le tout, le Bloc québécois a fait adopter mardi une motion pour « condamne[r] totally Nazism in all its forms” and “expresses[r] its full and complete solidarity with all the victims of Nazism, present and past.”

The resolution unanimously approved at the end of a heated question period where insults were fired from the conservative benches “condemns the invitation made, Friday, September 21, 2023, to a former Waffen-SS soldier and withdraws any tribute that has been paid to him.”

On the other hill, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon managed to unite the elected representatives of the National Assembly behind a motion that his colleague Yves-François Blanchet would not have succeeded in getting approved in Ottawa.

“That the National Assembly dissociates itself from the Parliament of Canada which recently gave a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran of the SS, that it reaffirms its solidarity with the Jewish people and with the victims of the Holocaust,” says the resolution.

With the collaboration of Hugo Pilon-Larose, The Press, and The Canadian Press