Anthony Rotapresident of House of Commons canadese (the lower house of Parliament) announced his resignation after the scandal caused by the homage paid by the chamber – during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Canada – to Yaroslav Hunkaa Ukrainian-Canadian veteran who fought in the ranks of the Nazi SS during the Second World War, introduced by Rota himself as “a Ukrainian hero e a Canadian hero” (video). “It’s with the heavy heart that I rise to inform members of my resignation as Speaker of the House of Commons,” Rota said in front of the assembly on Tuesday, underlining the “deep regret” for the error. Nazism, he said, “has caused pain to various people and communities, including Jewish communities in Canada and around the world, people who survived Nazi crimes in Poland and other countries. I take full responsibility for my actions.”
The episode – which has raised numerous controversies – was reported by the defense association of the Jewish community in Canada, the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center: “The fact that a veteran who served in a Nazi military unit was invited and received a standing ovation in Parliament is shocking“. Hence the president’s public apology: “On Friday (…), after the speech of the President of Ukraine, I greeted a person in the gallery and then learned new information that makes me regret having done so. “I am solely responsible for this initiative and take full responsibility for the actions. I would particularly like to offer my most sincere apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and in the world.”
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