Anthony Rota has resigned
The Speaker of the House of Commons caved in to pressure from fellow party members.
Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota has resigned amid controversy over an incident in Parliament. Recall, September 22, 98-year-old Yaroslav Gunka, who fought in a Nazi unit, was invited by Rota to attend the session. The Speaker introduced him as a World War II veteran who fought for the freedom of the Ukrainian people, so the Canadian officials greeted Gunka with a standing ovation.
Rota left voluntarily, as he reported at the meeting on September 26. He apologized again — for the third time — for what had happened. Rota's party colleagues supported his decision: before that we wrote about the fact that members of the Liberal Party insisted on the Speaker's resignation.
However, the Liberals' agreement that the incident was unacceptable and the resignation of the guilty party did not satisfy the Canadian opposition. Members of the other parties represented in Parliament harshly criticized the Liberals who are responsible for organizing the meeting. Many of them agreed that such negligence cast a shadow on the party in general and, in the eyes of the world, on the whole of Canada. The heated debate in Parliament continues to this day.
By the way, the human rights organization Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) also agreed with the oppositionists. Its members noted that Rota had compromised all 338 deputies.
Rota's resignation will take effect on the evening of Wednesday, September 27. This means that MPs will have to choose another speaker so that the House of Commons can continue to function.
