Liberal MP and House Speaker Anthony Rota has resigned as Speaker of the House after mistakenly inviting and honouring a Nazi veteran in Canada’s House of Commons on Friday.
All members of parliament gave 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation after Rota called him a Canadian and Ukrainian hero, without realizing that Hunka fought for Adolf Hitler in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS during World War II.
House Speaker Anthony Rota apologized on Sunday and again on Monday for what he said was strictly his “initiative.”
The Bloq Quebecois and New Democrat Party called for Rota to resign on Monday — and on Tuesday, Liberal Foreign Minister Melanie Joly also said he should step down from his role.
The Conservative Party of Canada curiously didn’t call for Rota to resign, perhaps not wanting to scapegoat him alone given that the Liberal Party admitted they vetted the guest list. Conservative MP Andrew Scheer cast doubt that Rota is solely to blame for Hunka getting invited to the House as an honourary guest.
Trudeau blames Russia
PM Trudeau decided to skip out on Question Period on Monday, avoiding criticism from the opposition Conservatives. When asked by a reporter for his reaction to the scandal, Trudeau fully blamed Rota. He also said that it shows Canadians need to push back against Russian disinformation.
