Conservative MP asks police, PMO to explain embarrassing invite -- but not the former Speaker
CTV
The Conservatives are pushing for a House of Commons committee to summon federal police agencies and someone from the Prime Minister's Office to explain the 'international embarrassment' caused when Parliament applauded a man who fought with a Nazi unit in Ukraine in the Second World War.
The Conservatives are pushing for a House of Commons committee to summon federal police agencies and someone from the Prime Minister's Office to explain the "international embarrassment" caused when Parliament applauded a man who fought with a Nazi unit in Ukraine in the Second World War.
The motion Alberta MP Stephanie Kusie said she intends to bring to the operations committee Thursday also includes proposed witnesses from the RCMP, CSIS, the Parliamentary Protective Service and the Sergeant-At-Arms for the House of Commons.
It does not include former Speaker Anthony Rota or anyone from his office.
Rota resigned Wednesday after apologizing for inviting Yaroslav Hunka to the House of Commons to witness the speech of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sept. 22.
Rota said the responsibility for the invitation was his and his alone, and that he had failed to research Hunka's military history. He introduced Hunka as a "Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero" who fought for Ukrainian independence during the Second World War.
It was later reported that Hunka had fought with a unit known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, a voluntary unit created by the Nazis to help fight off the Soviet Union.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized on behalf of all MPs Wednesday afternoon, but has consistently said the invitation was Rota's responsibility alone and neither he nor anyone in his office was informed ahead of time that Hunka was on the guest list.
