Nazi Military Veteran Honoured in Canadian Parliament During Ukrainian President’s Visit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the president’s speech in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Sept. 22, 2023. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

MPs gave a standing ovation to a former member of the Waffen SS, a Nazi division accused of war crimes during World War II, during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Parliament in Ottawa on Sept. 22.

Speaker of the House Anthony Rota referred to Ukrainian-Canadian Yaroslav Hunka, who was present in the House of Commons, as a “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.”