Justin Trudeau faces backlash as man who fought for Nazis gets standing ovation in Canada parliament

Canada's leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre called the incident an 'appalling error in judgment' on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's part.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been facing severe backlash after a 98-year-old man who fought for the Nazis during World War II was given a standing ovation at the House of Commons last week. Yaroslav Hunka was recognised by speaker Anthony Rota as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.

Rota called him a “Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service" but after a Jewish human rights group pointed out that Hunka had served in a Nazi unit, Rota on Sunday apologised for his remarks. He added that Hunka is from his district and that his fellow Parliament members and the Ukraine delegation were not aware of his plan to recognise him.

This did not, however, stop the Opposition from holding Justin Trudeau responsible for the incident. Canada's leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, hit out at him alleging that he “personally met with and honoured” Hunka. Calling it an “appalling error in judgment” on Trudeau's part, Poilievre said that the prime minister's personal protocol office is responsible for arranging and vetting all guests and programming for state visits of this kind.

"No parliamentarians (other than Justin Trudeau) had the opportunity to vet this individual’s past before he was introduced and honoured on the floor of the House of Commons. Without warning or context, it was impossible for any parliamentarian in the room (other than Mr. Trudeau) to know of this dark past," Poilievre wrote on X. "Mr. Trudeau must personally apologise and avoid passing the blame to others as he always does."

It has come out today that Justin Trudeau personally met with and honoured a veteran of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (a Nazi division).

Liberals then arranged for this Nazi veteran to be recognized on the floor of the House of Commons during the visit of the… https://t.co/9JFUEqsdW8

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— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) September 24, 2023

Meanwhile, the Jewish human rights group Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center demanded an apology for the incident and called for an explanation of how Hunka was cleared to enter the parliament.

"At a time of rising antisemitism and Holocaust distortion, it is incredibly disturbing to see Canada's Parliament rise to applaud an individual who was a member of a unit in the Waffen-SS, a Nazi military branch responsible for the murder of Jews and others," it stated. "An explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the Speaker of the House and a standing ovation."

Russia too has demanded a clarification. Its RIA state news agency cited Russia's ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, as saying that the embassy will send a letter to Trudeau and a note to the Canadian foreign ministry on Monday. "We will, of course, demand clarification from the Canadian government," RIA cited Stepanov as saying.

(With inputs from agencies)

Read more: Leader of Canada’s House of Commons apologizes for honoring man who fought for Nazis