Trudeau apologizes after man who fought in Nazi unit was praised by parliamentarians at Zelenskyy event
Yaroslav Hunka was a member of the 1st Galician division, a unit of Adolf Hitler's war machine
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized on behalf of Canada's Parliament after a man who fought in Adolf Hitler's Nazi forces was included in an event last week honouring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"This was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada. All of us who were in this House on Friday regret deeply having stood and clapped even though we did so unaware of the context," Trudeau said in a brief statement to reporters.
"It was a horrendous violation of the memory of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust," he said, adding the celebration of ex-soldier Yaroslav Hunka was "deeply, deeply painful" to Jewish people, Poles, Roma, the LGBT community and other racialized people in particular — some of the groups that were targeted by the Nazi regime in the Second World War.
Trudeau also said that "Canada is deeply sorry" for involving Zelenskyy, who was pictured applauding Hunka — an image that has been exploited by Russian propagandists.
Canada has sent an apology to Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation through diplomatic channels, Trudeau added.
Liberal caucus sources have told CBC News that Trudeau told MPs Wednesday they should avoid speaking to the press about Hunka's invitation and the subsequent fallout, and that the media frenzy would die down if they stayed tight-lipped.
Trudeau's remarks come after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said inviting Hunka to attend Zelenskyy's historic address to Parliament is the "biggest single diplomatic embarrassment" in the country's history.
Poilievre is blaming Trudeau for the mishap, despite outgoing Speaker Anthony Rota's assertion that he alone was responsible for inviting Hunka.
Rota called the Ukrainian veteran a "Canadian hero" in the Commons and prompted a standing ovation.
Hunka was part of the First Ukrainian Division, also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division — a voluntary unit that was part of Hitler's forces.
Speaking to reporters before a Conservative caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, Poilievre said Trudeau was responsible for making Zelenskyy's visit to Canada a success — and Hunka's inclusion in the event has sullied Canada's reputation on the global stage.
"Every single person ought to have been vetted for their diplomatic and security sensitivities if the prime minister and his massive apparatus were doing their jobs," Poilievre said.
In question period, Poilievre again hammered Trudeau over the incident, saying it's not enough for the prime minister to apologize on behalf of Canada or Parliament. He said Trudeau should wear this personally.
"This prime minister allowed for a monumental, unprecedented and global shame to unfold in this chamber," Poilievre said. "Will he take personal responsibility for this shame and personally apologize on behalf of himself?"
Trudeau stopped short of a personal apology, saying it's not appropriate for the Prime Minister's Office to police who can enter the House of Commons.
He said it would be a "grievous attack" on the rights and privileges of MPs to have his office vet everyone invited to the Commons galleries.
Trudeau said that, as a long-time MP and a former minister of democratic institutions, Poilievre should know how Parliament works — that the Speaker is independent of the Prime Minister's Office and free to invite whoever they want.
"To demonstrate such little knowledge for how Parliament functions to make a partisan attack is truly disgraceful," Trudeau said.
During a particularly testy exchange, Trudeau pointed out that some of Poilievre's Tory MPs dined earlier this year with Christine Anderson, a far-right German politician who has downplayed the Holocaust and pushed anti-Muslim ideology.
"To this day, the leader of the Official Opposition has not apologized — no recognition, no apologies, no consequences for those three MPs who engaged with a far-right German politician," Trudeau said.
"If the leader of the Opposition wants the government to help him vet who his MPs meet with, we'd be more than happy to give him some better advice."
As for who vetted Hunka, Rota's spokesperson has said that the Speaker's guest list for the event was not shared with the Prime Minister's Office.
Rota's picks to be in the gallery were sent to the House of Commons protocol office and the confirmed list of attendees was then shared with corporate security, which is partly responsible for security in the parliamentary precinct, including the Commons chamber in West Block.
Rota resigned from his post Tuesday.
Regardless, Poilievre said Trudeau and his team should have had some oversight of who was on hand.
"What has he done with that responsibility? He's been hiding out in his cottage," the Tory leader said.
Trudeau has been on Parliament Hill this week but, until Wednesday, he'd been notably absent from question period.
Unlike some of his ministers, including Government House Leader Karina Gould and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, Trudeau did not explicitly say Rota should resign over the recognition of a former Nazi soldier.
The shockwaves from the 98-year-old's appearance in Parliament are still being felt.
Poland's education minister has said he wants Hunka be extradited to face criminal penalties for his role in the Galician division, a unit that committed atrocities against Poles in the Second World War. Przemysław Czarnek said he has "taken steps" to get Hunka to Poland.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre (FSWC), a Jewish rights group, said Rota's action "compromised all 338 MPs" and "handed a propaganda victory to Russia."
The FSWC is also calling on the Commons' Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) to hold public hearings, investigate what took place and examine "vetting process failures."
B'nai Brith, another Jewish group, said the government must make the Deschenes Commission's 1980s-era report public in its entirety so the country can learn the true extent of Ukrainian Nazi activities in post-Second World War Canada.
Reports suggest as many as 2,000 Ukrainian members of Hitler's Waffen-SS were admitted to Canada after the war — after some British prodding. The commission said the number is likely lower than that.
But Jewish groups have long been critical of how these collaborators have been allowed to live in peace in Canada after voluntarily serving in Hitler's forces.
Historians have documented how soldiers like Hunka were trained at SS facilities in Germany, swore an oath to Hitler and received an education in Nazi doctrine.
"We cannot move forward as a country from Friday's humiliating debacle without the government committing to finally opening its wartime records," said Michael Mostyn, B'nai Brith Canada's CEO.
Asked if the Deschenes report should be unsealed, Justice Minister Arif Virani did not give a clear answer.
One part of the commission's work was made public while a second, with the names of alleged Nazis in Canada, was kept secret.
"I will always support ensuring that people who have perpetrated war crimes or crimes against humanity or crimes like genocide are brought to justice," Virani told reporters.
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With files from the CBC's David Cochrane
