(Ottawa) The presence of a former Ukrainian soldier who fought in a Nazi unit at President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech plunges the Trudeau government into embarrassment.
The 98-year-old veteran, Yaroslav Hunk, received a warm ovation from the elected officials and senators of the Canadian Parliament when the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, mentioned his presence in the stands.
“He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero and we thank him for his service,” said President Rota, introducing this citizen from his northern Ontario riding. The former soldier stood up, and he was applauded by the room, including President Zelensky, who raised his fist in his direction.
It turns out that during World War II the man was a member of the 14e division of the Waffen-SS, created by the Nazi regime. The affair had gone unnoticed until Jewish organizations sounded the alarm this Sunday.
“The Quebec and Canadian Jewish communities firmly support Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. But we cannot remain silent when the crimes committed by Ukrainians during the Holocaust are whitewashed,” protested the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs on X.
“Appalling,” wrote the organization Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies on the same social network. At B’Nai Brith, CEO Michael Mostyn expressed a similar sentiment, arguing that “we cannot allow a rewrite [whitewashing] Of the history “.
President Rota’s apology
President Rota quickly expressed contrition, assuring that he “regrets [sa] decision to have presented this person” in light of “new information” which has been brought to his attention since last Friday’s speech.
“I would particularly like to offer my most sincere apologies to Jewish communities across Canada and around the world. I take full responsibility for my actions,” he said in a statement released Sunday.
The Liberal MP made it clear that “no one”, among his parliamentary colleagues or the Ukrainian delegation, “was aware” of his intentions or his remarks before my speech”, and that he is therefore “the only one responsible for this initiative.
This affair casts a shadow over a day which had, all in all, gone quite well for Justin Trudeau, whose week had been marked by the outbreak of a diplomatic crisis between Canada and India.
Pierre Poilievre dissatisfied
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre placed the blame on Prime Minister Trudeau, showing himself to be dissatisfied with the explanations provided by Anthony Rota. He took the opportunity to distance himself from this ovation which was offered to the veteran of Ukrainian origin.
“Without warning or context, it was impossible for any parliamentarian present in the room [autre que M. Trudeau] to be aware of this dark past. Mr. Trudeau must apologize personally and not blame others, as he always does,” he wrote on the social network X.
“This is a serious error of judgment on the part of Justin Trudeau, whose office of protocol is responsible for organizing and approving all guests and programs for state visits of this type,” added the leader of the official opposition.