Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invited the Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran, 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, to a reception for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The report comes from the Globe and Mail, four months after it was revealed Liberal MP and House Speaker Anthony Rota mistakenly invited and honoured the Nazi veteran in Canada’s House of Commons.
Correction, February 5, 6:27pm MT, 2024: The report first came from Rebel News.
Trudeau said he had nothing to do with the entire debacle, despite the Prime Minister’s Office being responsible for vetting the guest list.
A bombshell report has now revealed that Trudeau may have been more involved in the Nazi affair than he initially let on.
A September 22, 2003 “Invitation from the Prime Minister of Canada” was sent to Hunka by email, as reportedly seen by the Globe and Mail.
“Dear Yaroslav Hunka, The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, is pleased to invite you to a special event. The event will take place on Friday, September 22, 2023, at 8.30pm in Toronto, Ontario,” the invitation read.
Hunka did not attend the event.
Despite the invite coming directly from Trudeau, the PMO has stated that the Prime Minister didn’t actually know about it. The PMO further stated Hunka was recommended by the Canadian Ukrainian Congress.
PMO spokesperson Ann-Clara Vaillancourt also admitted the invitation was a mistake.
Trudeau says “Canada is sorry”
“This was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed parliament and Canada,” Trudeau said on September 27, 2023.
“It was a horrendous violation of the memory of the millions of people who died in the holocaust, and it was deeply, deeply painful for Jewish people,” he added.
“It also hurt Polish people, 2SLGBTQI+ people, disabled people, racialized people, and the many millions who were targeted by the Nazi genocide.”
Poilievre grills Trudeau
After Trudeau’s non-apology apology, opposition leader Pierre Poilievre grilled Trudeau on how the Liberal government could have been completely ignorant of the guest list that included a Nazi veteran.
Trudeau remained steadfast in his statement that Rota, and only Rota, knew about the invitation.
