Uproar in Canada over applause for a Ukrainian who fought with the Waffen-SS

Anger is rising in Canada. The head of the authority, Anthony Rota, mourned the 98-year-old, saying he was a Ukrainian hero and a “fighter against the Russians.”

Anger is rising in Canada following Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech to the country’s parliament, with Speaker Anthony Rutte eulogizing the 98-year-old, saying he was a Ukrainian hero and “killer against the Russians.”

The 98-year-old received a standing ovation from the entire parliament, including the Ukrainian president, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other dignitaries.

As it turned out, the 98-year-old Ukrainian resident of Canada, Yaroslav Hunka, who was welcomed into the Canadian House of Representatives, was a member of the 14th Waffen-SS, in which he served during World War II. His identity was revealed by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights group.

After this uproar, the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons apologized, taking full responsibility for the incident. “The responsibility for this oversight rests entirely with me,” he said. He added, “After that, I learned more information, which made me regret my decision,” offering a “deep” apology to the Jewish communities.

“At a time of increasing anti-Semitism and distortion of the Holocaust, it is deeply disturbing to see the Canadian Parliament applaud someone who was a member of a unit of the Waffen-SS, a Nazi military corps responsible for the killing of Jews and others,” noted the side of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre. The statement added, “An explanation must be given as to how this person entered the hallowed halls of the Canadian Parliament, and the Speaker praised and applauded him.”

This fact has sparked many reactions within Canada, and in Jewish and non-Jewish communities outside Canada, as well as in Russia. According to the official Russian news agency, Russia’s ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, said that the embassy will send a letter of protest to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a memorandum to the Canadian Foreign Ministry. “We will, of course, seek clarification from the Canadian government,” Stepanov said.