Mr. "Not My Fault" At It Again

"[Anthony Rota made an] unforgivable error [in recognizing 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka as] a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero [just prior to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to Parliament Friday, leading to Members of Parliament and dignitaries present in the House to enthusiastically offer a standing ovation]."

"It's for that reason, for the good of the institution of the House of Commons that I say, sadly, I don't believe you can continue in this role."

"Regrettably, I must respectfully ask that  you step aside."

NDP House leader Peter Julian

"I want to apologize for what happened and really tell you that the intention was not to embarrass this House."

"My sincere apologies to the House [of Commons], to each and every one of you who are in the House today, and to all Canadians for having been put through this."

"I wish to make clear that no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukraine delegation, was aware of my intention or of my remarks before I delivered them."

"I accept full responsibility for my actions."

Liberal Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons, Ottawa

Yaroslav Hunka (right) waits for arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky  Alamy/Canadian Press

 

"What happened", of course was that the House Speaker surprised those present to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Canadian Parliament; they were present, along with parliamentarians and diplomats from other countries and invited guests to hear the Ukrainian president address the Canadian Parliament. Just prior to President Zelenskyy's address, Speaker Rota stood up and introduced the presence of a 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian, a former military officer, as a hero-veteran to be applauded.

Yaroslav Hunka, introduced as "a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero", was a member of Mr. Rota's North Bay constituency. Someone had obviously recommended the nonagenarian to be present for the welcome of the Ukrainian president to Canada, as a special, surprise treat, to honour a man for his long-past military service. To believe that Mr. Rota took this upon himself without consultation with the Prime Minister's Office is to be delusional. But then, Justin Trudeau has never heard of "the buck stops here".

Prime Minister Trudeau is accustomed to taking credit for anything that occurs that could conceivably be kind to his faltering reputation. Any events that continue to tarnish his future legacy and black-eye the Liberal government he heads are someone else's ill-doing, most unfortunate but not his problem. So that when a man is introduced and made much of ceremoniously and applauded for presumed service and courage, but then turns out to have been a member of a Nazi SS Division created for Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, it is an event beyond his ken.

 

Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota issued a second apology on Monday before resigning on Tuesday   Reuters

 

When Mr. Trudeau was asked about apologizing himself for the invitation to a man who fought for Nazi Germany, embarrassing Canada on the world stage yet again, he merely shrugged and pointed out that Mr. Rota was the one involved, and his apology would suffice. Given the fact that the Privy Council Office and intelligence services scrutinize each and every invitee to Parliament, and that no antennae were raised of a man a simple Google search would identify as a Nazi collaborator, it's hard to take Mr. Trudeau seriously, nor should we.

Canadian Jewish groups publicly identified Mr. Hunka as having served in the First Ukrainian Division as an officer. Known as well as the Waffen SS Galicia Division, a purely voluntary unit comprised of Ukrainian nationals, operating under the direct command of the Nazi SS. The division "was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable", observed the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

According to Mr. Rota, following the Friday event, he became aware of more information causing him to "regret" his decision, extending his "deepest apologies" to the Jewish community. The initiative to recognize Mr. Hunka, a member of his Nipissing-Timiskaming riding in northern Ontario, was "entirely" his own. Although government opposition parties criticized and blamed the governing Liberals for not having properly vetted the man and for placing them in a position where they applauded and celebrated someone associated with the Nazis, the reality is he would have been completely vetted.

Trudeau & Company simply felt that the optics of a 98-year-old veteran appearing before the Ukrainian president was too good a virtue-signalling opportunity to pass up. Like all the other bungled enterprises of the Liberal government, like appointing a racist antisemite to a position of training for civil servants in human rights, it seems just par for the course for them to think no one would notice through the euphoria of the moment that they were being exploited and manipulated for the greater good of the Trudeau agenda. "Russian disinformation" of course was behind the SS Waffen revelations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Speaker Anthony Rota 'acknowledged his mistake' in inviting a Ukrainian who served in a Nazi unit to the House of Commons. Trudeau says he wants parliamentarians to refocus on standing against Russian propaganda and disinformation.  CBC