And it has thrown the government even further off its game after a week of trying closing relations with India. On a day when liberals were talking about their efforts to lower grocery prices, the nation was talking about Nazis.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre called on Trudeau to apologize for allowing the man to attend and to “take responsibility” for this “massive diplomatic embarrassment and shame.”
Trudeau did not appear in the House of Commons on Monday to discuss the issue, although he was in Ottawa, the capital, meeting with British Columbia Premier David Eby and making only brief comments to the media.
“It’s obviously very upsetting,” he said. “This is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and, by extension, to all Canadians.”
This is just the latest political wound for Trudeau, whose government has struggled to explain its slow response to the rising cost of living and soaring housing prices while being challenged by a fiery rival which is increasing in popularity.
House Speaker Anthony Rota, whom the Liberals blamed for sparking the bizarre incident that quickly gained worldwide attention, refused to heed calls to resign on Monday and remained in his post overseeing the proceedings that were mainly about a scandal that has him at the center.
He apologized in person and said he took “full responsibility” for inviting and leading the tribute to a veteran of a Nazi division of Ukrainian SS soldiers whom he described as a “hero,” prompting a great ovation from the parliamentarians.
That man was 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the First Ukrainian Division, also known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS.
Jewish organizations reacted with shock. On Monday, lawmakers in the House expressed concern that the incident would feed Russia’s disinformation machine. The Kremlin called it “outrageous”.
The Russian-backed media has done it yarn narratives throughout the war based on false statements that neo-Nazis run Ukraine. Some openly worried that this will only add fuel to the fire.
Deputies REACT WITH FIRE, DISGUSTMENT
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer accused Trudeau’s office of dropping the ball on something that “a simple Google search” would have prevented.
“What message does this send to Canada’s partners and allies around the world?” he said in the House of Commons on Monday. “There was a Nazi in the room.”
Liberal House leader Karina Gould, a Jewish MP who called it “deeply embarrassing” and “hurtful”, appealed against turning the incident into a political football and spent her time in Parliament pointing out He wags his finger, saying he acted on his own. .
Voices shook with fury as lawmakers addressed Rota in a tense debate, with opposition members saying they would not collectively appreciate the embarrassment.
Two opposition parties, including the NDP, which currently props up the government in a minority Parliament, are calling on Rota to resign. But the Conservatives sought to pin the blame on the Prime Minister’s Office for failing to fully screen guests in the gallery seats.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner called it a “stain” on Canada, something that showed a “vile and flagrant lack of judgment that has tarnished our country’s reputation.”
Liberal MP Irek Kusmierczyk described it as “deeply painful” for his community and for Polish Canadians, describing the military division in question as “exceptionally cruel” that “murdered thousands of Jews, thousands of Poles in Eastern Poland”.
UNLIKELY FIGURE IN THE CENTER
Rota is one of the last people anyone in Canadian politics would have had in their bingo cards for the next big scandal to grip the nation.
He has been around federal politics for decades, having burst onto the scene in 2004 when he won election under the Liberal banner and had been free of controversy until now.
Members of Parliament elected him in 2019 as Speaker of the House, a reference role in Parliament, although still far from any higher office. It’s seen as a perks-filled administrative job that requires a lawmaker who can act relatively impartially, which usually means they’ll have a milquetoast public persona until they leave the role.
WHAT COMES NEXT
Trudeau will be forced to answer the opposition’s demands directly the next time he attends question period. The preview of this: He said Monday that the speaker “has acknowledged his mistake and apologized.”
And Rota will have a harder and harder time at his job if he sticks around.
“We still have many, many questions, and this issue does not end with your statement or your apology,” Scheer told Rota.
If Rota does not resign, opposition parties can ask Parliament to resign and ask for a vote or seek other tools. The matter could be sent to a commission to study, breathing more oxygen into the scandal, thus delaying the burning for weeks.
Whatever actions lie ahead, the pressure is about to mount.
“I’ve known Anthony for 20 years. I consider him a very honorable man,” NDP MP Charlie Angus told reporters Monday.
“But something went wrong the other day and Parliament was put in an untenable position. And we need to send a very clear message to the world that we do not celebrate people who have a dubious past when it comes to mass murder in Ukraine and Russia in World War II”.
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