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MONTREAL — The speaker of Canada’s House of Commons resigned Tuesday amid mounting pressure from lawmakers across the political spectrum after he honored a Ukrainian World War II veteran and former Nazi during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Parliament last week.
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“The work of this House is above any of us,” Speaker Anthony Rota said in the House on Tuesday. “Therefore, I must step down as your speaker. I reiterate my profound regret for my error.”
Calls for Rota’s resignation have piled up since he invited 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka to Zelensky’s address to a joint session of Parliament on Friday. After the address, he called Hunka a “hero” who “fought [for] Ukrainian independence against the Russians, and continues to support the troops today.”
The crowd stood in ovation — twice. Zelensky, who is Jewish and has relatives who were killed by the Nazis, pumped his fist.
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But over the weekend, several Jewish groups pointed out that Hunka had been a member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division, a unit of the Waffen-SS made up of ethnic Ukrainians. The Waffen-SS was a Nazi military force formed by key Holocaust organizer Heinrich Himmler.
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Rota apologized in a statement Sunday. He said that Hunka lived in his legislative district, known in Canada as a riding. Since Zelensky’s address, he said, he had “become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision.” He apologized again Monday.
But it wasn’t enough to stop the calls for his resignation. The left-of-center New Democratic Party on Monday called for Rota to step down. Other opposition parties followed suit. On Tuesday, several lawmakers from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, including the foreign minister, also said he should step aside.
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The episode highlighted a controversial period in Ukrainian history during World War II when some Ukrainian nationalists join Nazi units to expel the Soviets.
Rota said Tuesday that he accepted “full responsibility” for his actions, which he acknowledged caused pain to the Jewish community and survivors of Nazi atrocities, among other groups. He said his resignation would be effective by the end of the day Wednesday to allow for the election of a new speaker.
Canada is struggling to deport its last known Nazi suspect
Trudeau on Monday called the incident “extremely upsetting” and “deeply embarrassing.” His office has said that guest seating at Zelensky’s address was “determined by the Speaker and his office alone.”
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Poland’s education minister said Tuesday that the country has “taken steps” to effect Hunka’s extradition.
In contrast to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Canadian speaker is not a political party leader and plays no role in setting the government’s legislative agenda. Elected by House members, the speaker is responsible for maintaining order among members in the chamber.
The incident was particularly damaging, analysts said, because it would almost certainly be exploited by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his propaganda apparatus.
Putin has claimed that Ukraine is run by Nazis; its “denazification” is one of his justifications for invading the country last year.
The State Department has said the “denazification” claim is one of the Kremlin’s “most common disinformation narratives,” an effort “to manipulate international public opinion by drawing false parallels between Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine and the Soviet fight against Nazi Germany.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, asked about the incident on Tuesday, told reporters that “the Canadian government said they were not aware of that individual’s part and expressed regret for it, and that seems like the appropriate step.”
Westfall reported from New York.
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