World

Canadian House Speaker Apologizes for Epic Gaffe After Zelensky Speech

INSTANT REGRET

House Speaker Anthony Rota has apologized to the Jewish community after accidentally calling to honor a soldier who fought in a Nazi unit in WWII.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R), acknowdledges a Canadian-Ukrainian war veteran after addressing the House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada, on September 22.
Sean Kilpatrick/AFP via Getty Images

Canada’s Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, has apologized to the Jewish community after he led lawmakers in paying tribute to a veteran who allegedly belonged to a Nazi division during WWII, according to Politico. The tribute, which took place after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Canada’s House of Commons during an in-person visit, saw members from both sides give 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation after Rota introduced him as a “a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service.” The tribute appalled Jewish organizations who called for an apology after exposing that the First Ukrainian Division—also known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division–served under the Nazis. “I wish to make clear that no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or of my remarks before I delivered them,” Rota said in a Sunday apology.

Read it at Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons