In their most recent blunder, Trudeau and Canada Speaker Rota applaud a Nazi soldier

The speaker of the House of Commons in Canada issued an apology on Sunday for honoring a man who participated in World War II combat with a Nazi military unit.

On Friday, just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke in the House of Commons, Canadian legislators applauded Yaroslav Hunka, 98, when Speaker Anthony Rota called their attention to him. Rota described Hunka as a First Ukrainian Division combatant and a military hero.

“I mentioned someone in the audience during my comments after the president of Ukraine’s speech. Since then, I’ve learned additional information that makes me regret what I decided to do,” Rota said in a statement.

He continued by saying that neither the delegation from Ukraine nor his colleagues lawmakers were aware of his intention to recognize Hunka. Hunka is from his region, Rota pointed out.

I want to express my sincere regrets to the Jewish community in Canada and all across the globe in particular. I fully take responsibility for what I did, Rota stated.

Hunka couldn’t be contacted right away for comment.

Two separate standing ovations were given by Canadian parliamentarians, with Zelenskyy raising his fist in appreciation while Hunka saluted from the gallery. “We thank him for all his service,” said Rota, calling him “a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero.”

Zelenskyy was in Ottawa to increase Western allies’ support for the Ukrainian government’s fight against the Russian invasion.

Despite the fact that Zelenskyy is Jewish and had family perish in the Holocaust, Vladimir Putin has portrayed his adversaries in Ukraine as “neo-Nazis.”

According to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Rota has apologized and taken full responsibility for inviting Hunka and for the recognition in Parliament.

“This was the right thing to do,” the statement said. “Neither the Ukrainian delegation nor the Prime Minister’s Office received any notification in advance of the invitation or the recognition.”

The First Ukrainian Division, a voluntarily joined force commanded by the Nazis, was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division.

According to a statement released on Sunday by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, the section “was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.”

The statement read, “An explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the holy chambers of the Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the Speaker of the House and a standing ovation. An apology is owed to every Holocaust survivor and Second World War veteran who fought the Nazis.”

Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, criticized Parliament for recognizing a former Nazi unit member, claiming that Ukrainian “ultra-nationalist ideologues” who volunteered for the Galicia Division “dreamed of an ethnically homogenous Ukrainian state and endorsed the idea of ethnic cleansing.”

“We know an apology is on the way. We anticipate a sincere apology. Before Rota made his remark, Mostyn added that Parliament owed an explanation for how this could have happened at the heart of Canadian democracy as well as an apology to all Canadians for this affront.

All of the parliamentarians stood to praise Hunka. A representative for the Conservatives said that at the time, the party was unaware of his past.

Sebastian Skamski said, “We find the reports of this individual’s history to be very troubling,” adding that Trudeau’s Liberal party would have to justify his invitation.