Nazi veteran fiasco: Anthony Rota quits as Canadian parliament speaker

The Speaker of Canada's House of Commons resigned on Tuesday, due to an invitation extended to a man, who had served in a Nazi military unit during World War II, to attend a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Parliament.

After President Zelenskyy's address in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave a standing ovation to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, when Speaker Anthony Rota drew attention to him.

Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero, who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.

However, observers over the weekend began to publicize 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.

“No one in this House is above any of us. Therefore, I must step down as your speaker,” Rota said in Parliament.

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“I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognizing an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament of President Zelenskyy”, he said.

"That public recognition has caused pain to individuals and communities, including to the Jewish community in Canada and around the world in addition to Nazi survivors in Poland among other nations. I accept full responsibility for my actions," he added.

Rota stepped down after meeting with the House of Commons’ party leaders.

All main opposition parties had called for Rota to step down, and House government leader Karina Gould said that lawmakers had lost confidence in Rota.

“This is something that has brought shame and embarrassment to all of Parliament and indeed all Canadians. The speaker did the honorable thing in resigning,” Gould said.

Gould said that Rota invited and recognized Hunka without informing the government or the delegation from Ukraine, adding that the fact that Rota didn’t inform anyone and didn’t do diligence broke trust with lawmakers.

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Members of Parliament from all parties rose to applaud Hunka on Friday unaware of the details of who he was.

“Never in my life would I have imagined that the speaker of the House would have asked us to stand and applaud someone who fought with the Nazis,” Gould said.

“This is very emotional for me. My family are Jewish holocaust survivors. I would have never in a million of years stood and applauded someone who aided the Nazis," she added.

Gould said Rota found out about it over the weekend. "He probably should have resigned as soon as he learned about it,” she said.

Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland had called the incident “incredibly embarrassing."

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies said in a statement that the incident “has left a stain on our country’s venerable legislature with profound implications both in Canada and globally.”

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“This incident has compromised all 338 Members of Parliament and has also handed a propaganda victory to Russia, distracting from what was a momentously significant display of unity between Canada and Ukraine. It has also caused great pain to Canada’s Jewish community, Holocaust survivors, veterans and other victims of the Nazi regime.”

In an earlier apology on Sunday, Rota said he alone was responsible for inviting and recognizing Hunka, who is from the district that Rota represents.

The speaker’s office said it was Hunka's son who contacted Rota's local office to see if it was possible if he could attend Zelenskyy’s speech.

The prime minister's office said it was unaware that Hunka was invited until after the address.

The speaker’s office also confirmed it did not share its invite list with any other party or group. The vetting process for visitors to the gallery is for physical security threats, not reputational threats, the speaker’s office said.

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