October 2023
During a historic visit to Canada’s Parliament by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 24 September, now-former Speaker Anthony Rota stood up in the House of Commons to introduce Yaroslav Hunka, a resident of his North Bay riding sitting in the visitor’s gallery who is a “…Ukrainian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at his age of 98.” It didn’t take long for the backlash to come, as various media outlets quickly pointed out that anyone who fought against the Russians in World War II were fighting with the Nazis.
In this case, Hunka served with the Waffen-SS 1st Galician Division. The Waffen-SS was the combat branch of the Nasi Party’s paramilitary Schutzstaffel (SS).
The perverse irony is that it was the Trudeau Liberals who jumped all over members of the opposition Conservative Party of Canada for meeting with Christine Anderson, a member of the Alternative for Germany party in the European Parliament, whom the Liberals accused of being a Nazi sympathizer.
I never believed that now-former Speaker Rota was the only one who knew that Hunka was in the gallery, and that no one in the PMO, including Trudeau, knew that Rota was going to introduce him in the House of Commons. His fellow Liberals are acting as if Rota snuck Hunka in through the back door.
I’m now wondering if Rota is simply a patsy in this whole affair. Was Rota even the one who invited Hunka? If you watch the video of Rota reading his prepared introduction of Hunka, when he gets to the part “…who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians..,” Rota pauses and noticeably raises his right eyebrow, as if he realizes the significance of what he just read, before carrying on with the speech. Anyone who gives speeches knows that it’s strongly advisable to rehearse your speech a few times in private, to familiarize yourself with the content and lessen the chance of mispronouncing unfamiliar words.
I’m now wondering if Rota had no any idea who this guy was until he was handed the speech two minutes before he read it. I’m guessing it was actually some Parliament Hill staffer, likely in the PMO itself, who just happened to notice that there was a man who lived in Rota’s riding who fought against the Russians in World War II, a Ukrainian fighting against the Godless-Russians, and thought it would make a great viral video of the Trudeau government honouring “a Ukrainian hero.” Well, it certainly went viral!
Now the Polish government is investigating whether Hunka is a wanted war criminal. Good job Justin!
Sources: Rota under fire for honouring a North Bay resident with Nazi ties (UPDATE) – North Bay News (baytoday.ca), Canada House speaker apologizes for honoring man who fought for Nazis during Zelenskyy visit – CBS News, Waffen-SS – Wikipedia, Three Conservative MPs who met with far-right German politician will stay in caucus | CBC News.
