MPs requested on Thursday the House Affairs committee to look into how ex-Speaker Anthony Rota organized a parliamentary tribute to a member of the Waffen SS..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the 1946 Nuremberg Tribunal designated the Nazi military unit as a criminal organization because of its role in the mass murder of Jews and other war crimes..“I would actually be very interested to hear from the former Speaker as to what vetting processes he and his staff went through for this tragedy to occur,” said Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie (Calgary Midnapore, AB). .“Find out exactly, precisely what happened so that it never, ever happens again.”.“How in God’s name did this occur?” asked Kusie. .“We in the House are not the only ones left wondering how this happened.”.Last Friday, Rota introduced Hunka as a national hero to the House of Commons..“We have here in the chamber today a Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at his age of 98,” said Rota. .“His name is Yaroslav Hunka.”.“I am very proud to say he is from North Bay and from my riding of Nipissing-Temiskaming,” said Rota. .“He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service. Thank you.”.Conservative MP Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, AB) said Hunka’s military record should have raised suspicions..“Someone who fought against Russia during the Second World War, that should not have passed the basic smell test,” said Genuis..In 1945, Hunka was interned as an enemy prisoner of war after serving as a volunteer with the 14th Waffen SS Grenadier Division..“My generation was united by two great forces, faith in God and love for Ukraine,” Hunka was quoted in a 2011 blog post on a Ukrainian-language website Combatant News..“The sad thing is we are living through a time when the term Nazi is regularly thrown around as a political insult apparently by people who don’t seem to have a basic understanding and recollection of the history of Nazism,” said Genuis. .“This is deeply troubling, and it contributes, I think, to the concern about what happened last Friday.”.Bloc Québécois MP Julie Vignola (Beauport-Limoilou, QC) characterized the incident as “outrageous.”.“Nobody in the House would have stood to applaud a Nazi,” said Vignola..New Democrat MP Gord Johns (Courtenay-Alberni, BC) told the Commons Government Operations committee a proper investigation is due. .“What this committee wants, everybody wants, and that’s to make sure this is looked at and that it’s done properly, that there’s accountability,” said Johns..On Wednesday, Rota resigned after facing the prospect of formal censure from all parties in the House of Commons. His successor will be elected by MPs through a secret ballot on Tuesday.
