Canadian parliament honours Nazi with standing ovation

[Jim]

The ultimate facepalm

OTTAWA — Several Jewish advocacy organizations condemned members of Parliament on Sunday for giving a standing ovation to a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Ottawa on Friday, MPs honoured 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka in the House of Commons.

Hunka was invited by Speaker Anthony Rota, who introduced him as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.

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"I am very proud to say that he is from North Bay and from my riding of Ni****ing—Timiskaming," the Ontario MP said as an introduction.

"He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service."

MPs cheered and Zelenskyy raised his fist in acknowledgement as Hunka saluted from the gallery during two separate standing ovations.

The First Ukrainian Division was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies issued a statement Sunday saying the division "was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable."

"An apology is owed to every Holocaust survivor and veteran of the Second World War who fought the Nazis, and 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," the statement said.

B'nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn said it is beyond outrageous that Parliament honoured a former member of a Nazi unit, saying Ukrainian "ultra-nationalist ideologues" who volunteered for the Galicia Division "dreamed of an ethnically homogenous Ukrainian state and endorsed the idea of ethnic cleansing."

"We understand an apology is forthcoming. We expect a meaningful apology. Parliament owes an apology to all Canadians for this outrage, and a detailed explanation as to how this could possibly have taken place at the centre of Canadian democracy," Mostyn said.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which represents Jewish federations across the country, said it is deeply troubled by the incident.

"Canada's Jewish community stands firmly with Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. But we can't stay silent when crimes committed by Ukrainians during the Holocaust are whitewashed," the group said in a statement published Sunday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Members of Parliament from all parties rose to applaud Hunka. A spokesperson for the Conservative party said the party was not aware of his history at the time.

"We find the reports of this individual’s history very troubling," said Sebastian Skamski, adding that the Liberals would have to explain why he was invited.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office directed The Canadian Press to the office of the Speaker for comment.

Rota's office did not immediately respond to questions.

Monuments to honour the First Ukrainian Division have caused controversy in recent years.

In 2021, a statue of Ukrainian military leader Roman Shukhevych and a monument to the fighters of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division in Edmonton were vandalized by someone who spray painted them with the words "Actual Nazi."

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said at the time that it had been advocating for their removal for decades.

In 2020, a monument to the Waffen-SS Galicia Division in Oakville, Ont., was vandalized in a similar way.

The decision to admit Ukrainian immigrants who had served in the SS Waffen Division in the post-war period was contentious, with Jewish groups arguing they should be barred from the country.

The International Military Tribunal in Nuremburg declared the SS to be a criminal organization, including the SS Waffen in that declaration.

The Waffen-SS Galicia Division surrendered to the British army in 1945, and just over 8,000 men were moved to the United Kingdom in 1947.

In 1950, the federal cabinet decided to allow Ukrainians living in the U.K. to come to Canada "notwithstanding their service in the German army provided they are otherwise admissible. These Ukrainians should be subject to special security screening, but should not be rejected on the grounds of their service in the German army."

In 1985, then-prime minister Brian Mulroney called for a royal commission to examine whether Canada had become a haven for war criminals.

The Deschênes Commission found there were about 600 former members of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division living in Canada at the time. But Justice Jules Deschênes said membership in the division did not itself constitute a war crime.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2023.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

[elkhunter11]

Absolutely disgusting.

[coolpete1]

Its stupid to have any other countries war vets on statues here . Also i'd be quite happy if they stopped sending our money to the Ukraine , fight your own war.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Absolutely disgusting.

And I had to read the Russian propaganda news to see this.

Grizz

[AxeMan]

Yup, what an embarrassment!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ant...logy-1.6977117

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/jewish...azis-1.6575593

Liberals whitewashing history.
Are they going to honor Kristia Freeland's NAZI grandfather next?

Some perspective: Trudeau and Liberals freak out at the Truckers Freedom Convoy when maybe a swastika was allegedly sighted, possibly a plant. Yet they find a rare surviving actual NAZI fighter (98 years old), bring him into the House of Commons and give him a standing ovation. Wow!

[Zip]

I just can’t believe that every single day, there comes a new What The Heck story, what’s wrong with our world…I bet that list would be very long these days!
If only the madness would end…
Zip

[jungleboy]

I think this is what you get and will continue to get with more and more younger and un educated politicians.
Most are unaware and uninterested in history or anything else unless it benefits them on election day.
They happily go along with the crowd and are generally too lazy to look into any issues unless they have and advisor that is sharp enough to see a problem ahead of time.

[kingrat]

Originally Posted by coolpete1

Its stupid to have any other countries war vets on statues here . Also i'd be quite happy if they stopped sending our money to the Ukraine , fight your own war.

X1000 you know that most of the money isn't going anywhere towards the war. I'm beyond sick of funding the most corrupt government/country in the world.

[ron anderson]

Originally Posted by kingrat

X1000 you know that most of the money isn't going anywhere towards the war. I'm beyond sick of funding the most corrupt government/country in the world.

Agreed ...

[TheIceTitan]

There's a bust of Roman Shukhevych in Edmonton.

Bandera and Shukhevych's "Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)" was only capable of killing innocent Poles, Jews, Belarusians, and even Ukrainians from more eastern regions who were deemed politically unreliable.

That's Ukrainian nationalism in a nutshell -- totally reactive, vengeful, and incapable of anything remotely positive or constructive. During the war the larger threats were seen to be the Poles and Jews -- the war sorted those issues out and their animus then turned against the Russians.

If your identity hinges on being cannon fodder for the depleted and desperate German Army during World War II, your country is fake, and because it couldn't play nice with its much larger and more powerful neighbour, it will be going into the dustbin of history.

[AxeMan]

Originally Posted by jungleboy

I think this is what you get and will continue to get with more and more younger and un educated politicians.
Most are unaware and uninterested in history or anything else unless it benefits them on election day.
They happily go along with the crowd and are generally too lazy to look into any issues unless they have and advisor that is sharp enough to see a problem ahead of time.

Unaware of history? Nah, that is too easy of an excuse, the vote sucking part you got that right. 338 of them, and all their staff and offices can't check history, nah, I don't buy it. Simply, they will go along with anything for votes. Rota just wanted to grandstand some applause when Zelenskyy was there.

They easily go along with many other well known bad characters:

- Omar Khadr -Gave him $10 million and plenty of respect in the House.
- Jaspal Atwal -Took him to India on Trudeau's first India disaster visit.
- Hardeep Singh Nijjar -Trudeau/Liberals/NDP willing to completely blow up Canadan-Indian relations over this Interpol wanted terrorist.
- Joshua Boyle -Another terrorist sympathizer that was invited into Trudeau's personal office.

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by AxeMan

Unaware of history? Nah, that is too easy of an excuse, the vote sucking part you got that right. 338 of them, and all their staff and offices can't check history, nah, I don't buy it. Simply, they will go along with anything for votes. Rota just wanted to grandstand some applause when Zelenskyy was there.

They easily go along with many other well known bad characters:

- Omar Khadr -Gave him $10 million and plenty of respect in the House.
- Jaspal Atwal -Took him to India on Trudeau's first India disaster visit.
- Hardeep Singh Nijjar -Trudeau/Liberals/NDP willing to completely blow up Canadan-Indian relations over this Interpol wanted terrorist.
- Joshua Boyle -Another terrorist sympathizer that was invited into Trudeau's personal office.

Well you basically said the same thing as I did so looks like we agree

[huntinstuff]

Lots of people know nothing of Ukraine's past and present

Meanwhile, we pump billions to them because our Deputy PM is one, among other things...we seize "assault" firearms from Canadians because they are "dangerous", yet Trydeau sends 55million worth of assault rifles to Ukraine to kill Russians.....guess the country who doesnt want NATO 3hrs from Moscow is the bad guy? So who was the bad guy when Russia moved missiles to Cuba 61 years ago???? Who flipped out and set an embargo against Cuba for 60 years? That would be the USA......

Now they cheer some Ukrainian scumbag nazi....



Meanwhile, our FN people boil water to drink it....

[glen moa]

I wonder if the speaker brought him in on purpose (knowing he’s a SS)?

[Pioneer2]

In 50 years Canada will be honouring the ISIS terrorists clueless leader allowed back in.

[barsik]

did anyone do the math? he would have been 20 at the end of the war and only 16 or 17 when germany rolled through poland and ukraine on their way to stalingrad. just another teenage kid forcibly conscripted by the germans. the optics on this are awful but as always both sides take an extreme view. maybe if somebody got the real story from him....at 98 he most likely has alzheimers and dementia and can't remember his own birthday. he was just a prop for a photo opportunity.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by jungleboy

I think this is what you get and will continue to get with more and more younger and un educated politicians.
Most are unaware and uninterested in history or anything else unless it benefits them on election day.
They happily go along with the crowd and are generally too lazy to look into any issues unless they have and advisor that is sharp enough to see a problem ahead of time.

Bottom Line, our society is screwed.

Grizz

[densa44]

If you visit Ottawa, and go to the parliament building when it is in session this is how it works. You go to your MP's office and tell them you are visiting and can you get a pass for the members gallery? I used to do it all the time and I went to the offices of rural MPs that weren't busy. Anyway say you were "elk" from Camrose. Your MP will get the speaker's attention at the beginning of the session, rise in his seat and introduce one of his constituents from Crowfoot. The speaker will nod to you and the MPs will give polite applause.

As you can see the system is not flawless.

[Phil McCracken]

So the House Speaker "apologized", and further added the following to his statement:

"Rota added in his statement that no one, including fellow parliamentarians or the Ukrainian delegation, was aware of his plans or remarks beforehand."

I call BS on that!

Our spineless so called PM should have apologized, not the Speaker who will most likely be thrown under the bus soon.

This government is so pathetic. It is embarrassing really.

All they have done the past many years is "apologize" for their dumb "mistakes", and yet, here we are.

Their supporters/voters are truly stupid.

Rant over...

[Drewski Canuck]

Parliament COULD have tried to locate one of the surviving members of the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA) who were fighting both the Russians and the Germans to try and establish an Independent state.

Most of these Displaced persons (DP's) that made it to Canada have now died, but they were known for their hatred to Communism and Fascism.

This particular group did not do too well in WW II against either the Russians or the Germans, but their intentions reflect what the modern Ukraine has become and is trying to stay: Independent.


Drewski

[Sundancefisher]

If this was a conservative honouring a Nazi that every media outlet would be stating Conservatives over and over again in all articles but none state… Rota who is a Liberal MP honoured a Nazi.

Rota is a Liberal. This doesn’t happen with PMO blessing.

Rota today made an apology. Haven’t heard it yet.

[fishnguy]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Parliament COULD have tried to locate one of the surviving members of the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA) who were fighting both the Russians and the Germans to try and establish an Independent state.

Most of these Displaced persons (DP's) that made it to Canada have now died, but they were known for their hatred to Communism and Fascism.

This particular group did not do too well in WW II against either the Russians or the Germans, but their intentions reflect what the modern Ukraine has become and is trying to stay: Independent.


Drewski

If someone wears a nazi uniform (or not) and exterminates or helps to exterminate/facilitates extermination of Poles, Jews, Russians, Ukrainians, (possibly others), one is a nazi, not a freedom fighter, regardless of what one thinks they are fighting for and what their “intentions” are. I am not sure where the confusion is for many. History is pretty clear on that.

The analyses of biographic publications, historical studies, and archival documents show that the majority of the OUN-B and UPA leaders and a very large proportion of members collaborated with Nazi Germany, mainly in the beginning of World War II. A significant percentage of the leaders and members of these organizations served in various police formations. They assisted the Nazi occupational authorities in implementing genocidal policies towards the Jews, Ukrainians, Russians, and Poles by helping to carry out mass executions and create conditions intended for the psychical annihilation of the entire Jewish population and significant numbers of Ukrainians, Russians, and Poles, specifically in Volhynia.

From: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....act_id=3429340

It is beyond embarrassing that this had happened. The fact that we have statues and memorials for these people and organizations is… Well, I have no idea what to call it. However, if we have these statues and memorials, why is it surprising that someone thought it was a great idea to bring this person to parliament and give him a round of applause?

The whole thing is an epic failure of our society. And not just here in Canada, but Ukraine as well, among many others. The whole idea that these “freedom fighters” were fighting for independent Ukraine, presumably fighting against both nazis and communists, while wearing nazi uniforms, taking command from nazis, and participating in some of the most horrible moments of human history is bizarre. How had this trick worked on so many people, I have no idea. I mean think about it.

[Fisherdan]

Originally Posted by jungleboy

I think this is what you get and will continue to get with more and more younger and un educated politicians.
Most are unaware and uninterested in history or anything else unless it benefits them on election day.
They happily go along with the crowd and are generally too lazy to look into any issues unless they have and advisor that is sharp enough to see a problem ahead of time.

As soon as the speaker said “fought against the Russians,” alarm bells should have gone off in everyone’s head. Instead, the entire bunch of trained seals mindlessly applause.

This is horrible and inexcusable for the liberal party, but pretty embarrassing for everyone else who was cheering too.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Parliament COULD have tried to locate one of the surviving members of the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA) who were fighting both the Russians and the Germans to try and establish an Independent state.

Most of these Displaced persons (DP's) that made it to Canada have now died, but they were known for their hatred to Communism and Fascism.

This particular group did not do too well in WW II against either the Russians or the Germans, but their intentions reflect what the modern Ukraine has become and is trying to stay: Independent.


Drewski

How about none of the above. This whole stunt is insane.

[MountainTi]

Meh. Just another day in the circus led by a clown known as the canadian government. Seems more of a daily than a weekly thing of late. The faux pas's have become so common place it hardly raises an eyebrow anymore.
Much like Elk, my disdain is more towards the imbeciles that vote for and support the morons holding the seats.
I wouldn't be even slightly disappointed if they were all swimming at the bottom of the Mariana trench (seat holders and their voters/supporters)

[Drewski Canuck]

The Freedom Fighters I speak of where NOT wearing Nazi Uniforms or Soviet Uniforms.

The group that I speak of was separate from the locals who fought FOR the Nazis.

The group that I speak of did not commit the atrocities of the Waffin SS that you are thinking of.

The reason I know of this separate group was that my father's village was near the bridge where this separatist independent group fought the Nazi unit, even though the Nazi unit were local people.

My father told the story that he was not allowed to join as he was small and was too young. But at the end of the battle between the actual separatists and the Nazi unit, there were so many bodies dead in the river from both sides that neither side needed the bridge any more.

Drewski

[Pathfinder76]

Don’t worry, PP will save us.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by MountainTi

Meh. Just another day in the circus led by a clown known as the canadian government. Seems more of a daily than a weekly thing of late. The faux pas's have become so common place it hardly raises an eyebrow anymore.
Much like Elk, my disdain is more towards the imbeciles that vote for and support the morons holding the seats.
I wouldn't be even slightly disappointed if they were all swimming at the bottom of the Mariana trench (seat holders and their voters/supporters)

Exactly, nonsense like this happens, because fools voted for the morons that are carrying out such stupidity. Without votes, these morons would not have the opportunity to attempt such asinine stunts.

[prinny53]

Originally Posted by coolpete1

Its stupid to have any other countries war vets on statues here . Also i'd be quite happy if they stopped sending our money to the Ukraine , fight your own war.

1000 x 1000. We have sent about a billion too much already.......

[ghfalls]

I thinks it over 9 billion right now.


QUOTE=prinny53;4663204]1000 x 1000. We have sent about a billion too much already.......[/QUOTE]