- Calls for Canada‘s House of Commons Speaker to resign increased on Monday.
- Yaroslav Hunka received a standing ovation from the House of Commons.
- On Tuesday, he is expected to meet with the House leaders of the ruling and opposition parties.
After accidentally honoring a Nazi soldier in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a “deeply embarrassing” episode, calls for Canada’s House of Commons Speaker to resign increased on Monday.
Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old veteran soldier, received a standing ovation from the House of Commons after Speaker Anthony Rota singled him out during the House’s hosting of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Canadian leader’s resignation
The contentious statement Justin Trudeau made about Hunka, a Ukrainian Canadian who served in the Nazi German army during World War II, has been taken back.
Thousands of people, including Hunka, fought for the Nazi German side rather than the Soviet Union. Rota, a resident of North Bay, Ontario, insisted that he was unaware of Hunka’s Nazi past and that he was unaware of his deeds. He expressed regret to his colleagues and lawmakers and that he was unaware of Hunka’s Nazi heritage.
But the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois of Canada demanded Rota’s resignation. On Tuesday, he is expected to meet with the House leaders of the ruling and opposition parties.
The apology was deemed “deeply embarrassing” to the Canadian Parliament and all Canadians by Prime Minister Trudeau, who expressed national shame on behalf of the nation.
