Canadian parliament criticized for honoring former SS veteran

Who would have thought that a meeting between the Canadian government top brass and a Ukrainian delegation would lead to a scandal. On Friday, September 22, Volodymyr Zelensky gave a thank-you speech in front of the Canadian Parliament. His words were met with standing ovations several times. The audience also applauded when 98-year-old World War II veteran Jaroslav Gunka was introduced. A couple of days later the press paid attention to who the top Canadian officials were applauding.

Gunka was invited to the parliamentary session by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, who introduced him as a veteran member of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army who fought for Ukraine's independence during World War II against the Soviet occupiers — and continues to support his homeland now. The nuance is that this struggle took place as part of the 14th SS Volunteer Infantry Division Galicia. This information, which passed by press releases, angered a part of Canadian society, which was used to supporting the other side of the conflict in that war.

Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Canadian human rights group dedicated to anti-Semitism and educating people about the horrors of the Holocaust, voiced its displeasure with the situation. On its social media accounts, the group claimed Galicia's well-known involvement "in the mass murder of Jews and others" and demanded an apology from officials.

Concern over the enthusiastic honoring of Gunka was also expressed by The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and another organization, B'nai Brith Canada, represented by its CEO Michael Mostyn. He called the situation outrageous and recalled that "Canadian soldiers fought and died to free the world from the evils of Nazi brutality"

The required apology has already been made by Speaker Rota, who is responsible not only for Gunka's invitation but also for the district in which he now resides. Rota said he accepts full responsibility for the incident, apparently implying that neither Trudeau nor others in attendance realized who they were applauding to. "It was my personal initiative," Rota said and apologized profusely to all those affected by the event, and especially to the Jewish communities in Canada and around the world.

The fact that Gunka was met with a standing ovation and the endorsement of the Canadian parliament, including Justin Trudeau, certainly did not pass by the Russian media. The event was an excellent occasion to discuss the support for Nazism by the countries of the so-called collective west. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov was a bit more streamlined but quite unambiguous on this topic: "We know that many Western countries, including Canada, have raised a young generation that does not know who fought with whom and what happened during World War II, and they know nothing about the threat of fascism".

The Canadian Conservative party has already apologized for its support of Hunka, too. Justin Trudeau has not yet officially commented on this topic.