A Ukrainian Nazi in King Justin's Court

How it may have come to be that a Nazi was honoured by Canada's parliament

Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the Nazis in a Waffen-SS division during World War II responds to a standing ovation in Canada’s House of Commons where he was honoured as a war hero. PHOTO: Youtube

No doubt, you’ve read, listened and watched innumerable reports of how Canada’s parliament unanimously stood in front of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to applaud a former Nazi who fought in Ukraine against Canada’s erstwhile ally the Soviet Union. Twice. How could this happen?

Here’s a theory.

The Ukrainian Nazi

Yaroslav Hunka is a 98-year old man who lives in North Bay, Ontario. Hunka was reportedly born in Urman, part of the Second Polish Republic, that became part of Ukraine.

During the Second World War, Hunka volunteered to fight as part of the 1st Ukrainian Division – also then known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of Hitler’s infamous SS. Hunka was a Nazi.

The Waffen-SS was the combat arm of the Nazi Party’s Schutzstaffel (SS). At its peak, there were over 38 divisions of Waffen-SS in the German army. Although the Waffen-SS initially recruited exclusively from racially pure “Aryan” Germans, after Hitler attacked the Soviet Union, membership was relaxed and locals from occupied regions were recruited to the cause. Presumably, Hunka was one of those locals recruited in Ukraine to fight the Soviets who were no more welcome there than the Germans.

After the war, Hunka emigrated to the UK, then Canada where he raised a family. Settling initially in Toronto, he later moved to North Bay. Throughout his time in Canada, Hunka has always been heavily involved in the Ukrainian Canadian community. To commemorate this, his sons created the Yaroslav and Margaret Hunka Endowment Fund to promote research at the University of Edmonton. One of his sons served as chair of the North Bay Hospital Foundation. It’s easy to see how Hunka may have been highly regarded in his community.

The Canadian Speaker

Anthony Rota is the Member of Parliament for North Bay (Nippissing–Timiskaming) and the Speaker of the House of Commons. As any elected official, he represents his community and needs to maintain their support to get re-elected. Finding occasion to celebrate and recognize prominent community members is a common practice for every politician.

As Speaker of the House of Commons, Rota is responsible to manage the affairs of the House, keep order during its sessions, and act in a largely unbiased, non-partisan manner despite the fact he is a member of the Liberal Party. As Speaker, Rota also enjoys unique privileges: there is an official residence for his use, a swanky office behind the Speaker’s Chair in the House of Commons and a special gallery reserved for his guests.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and all members of Canada’s House of Commons applaud Yaroslav Hunka. PHOTO: CP

The Prime Minister

On Friday, September 22 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosted a visit of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, following the latter’s visit to Washington D.C. where he’d met with President Biden and addressed Congress. His purpose, like British PM Winston Churchill’s during WW2, was to bolster support for the cause and to solicit money and materiel for Ukraine’s war effort.

The trip to Canada was a bolt-on to the US visit and an opportunity for both Zelensky and Trudeau. Canada’s Ukrainian community is the largest outside Ukraine and a continuing source of moral and monetary support for the home country and Canada’s government has been as forthcoming with cash and weapons as it can afford to be. It would be a rewarding side trip for Zelensky.

For Trudeau, the visit by a wartime president was also politically timely. Awash with domestic scandals and flagging support, Trudeau would benefit from the distraction of Zelensky’s visit – and from the limelight reflected from his prominence. It was good politics to introduce Zelensky (again) to the House of Commons and bathe in the reflected glory. It should have been a great day. And it was going so well.

The Incident

After Zelensky spoke and the House erupted in applause, The Speaker did something uncalled for. He recognized Hunka in the gallery and described him to the House as a hero.

Rota began his remarks, quite properly, addressing them to the Ukrainian president:

“Mr. President, as has been noted today, you join a very small group of world leaders who have addressed a joint session of our Parliament for a second time. Among those leaders, one stands out for his oratory, his leadership in the face adversity, and his strong determination to fight on behalf of his people and on behalf of what is right. That leader was the late African president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela.”

Rota went on to compare Zelensky with the late British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill. Then, he says this:

“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. His name is Yaroslav Hunka. I am very proud to say that he is from North Bay and from my riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming. He is a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service. Thank you.”

Every member of the House of Commons stood to applaud Hunka. Prime Minister Trudeau stood and applauded. So did opposition leaders Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh. Even President Zelensky stood to applaud.

How did this happen?

The Theory of Why

The whole day in Parliament was clearly intended to focus on Zelensky and to mine it for political goodwill. For Ukraine, sure. But, of more specific importance to those who sent the invitation and scheduled the appearance, for the government – for the Prime Minister.

I believe the Speaker decided he should share in some of that political goodwill. Rota, I suspect, saw an opportunity to milk a little bit of Zelensky’s glow for himself by recognizing his own local hero, and thus building goodwill back in his home riding.

Nobody else did this. Nobody else could, because nobody else was Speaker of the House with the power to direct events and change the agenda.

Rota rose to recognize Hunka. He described him as a hero – both of Ukraine and of Canada. All members of the House, trained like seals to stand and applaud when told to do so, dutifully rose to applaud a man who fought the Russians (meaning Soviets) during WW2… a time when the Russians (meaning Soviets) were on our side... fighting Adolph Hitler and his Nazis. Meaning Hunka was on Hitler’s side fighting our allies.

How could this happen? Politicians are genetically encoded to seek personal advantage from any opportunity. Rota did so. Members of Parliament are rigorously trained to stand up and applaud rapturously whenever they’re cued. The House delivered. And it’s not just MPs – how many times have you and I applauded because somebody else in the room started clapping?

An Ounce of Prevention

Future parliamentarians, especially prime ministers and speakers who have special privileges in the House, would be wise to keep the spotlight on the primary performer.

The star of the day was supposed to be President Zelensky. That was the plan. Had the focus remained on Zelensky throughout, there would have been no salute to a Nazi. The day would have been a roaring success for the prime minister and his government.

Even if Rota had still invited Hunka to attend the event in the Speaker’s gallery, no one would have noticed his presence if he wasn’t recognized for adulation. The error would have passed unremarked.

The Speaker got greedy. And, greed is never long rewarded.