Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer referred to Trudeau’s claim that he had no knowledge of Mr. Hunka as 'absurd'.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced Conservative accusations Tuesday that he misled the House of Commons when he said in September that he had no knowledge of Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran who was invited to attend a speech in Parliament by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr. Hunka was given two ovations in the House of Commons after former speaker Anthony Rota pointed him out in the gallery and paid tribute to him, saying he was a Canadian and Ukrainian hero.
Mr. Rota, who had invited Mr. Hunka to the speech, later resigned over the incident.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Tuesday that Mr. Trudeau should also resign after it emerged Mr. Hunka had received a personal invitation from the Prime Minister to a reception in Toronto for the Ukrainian President later that evening.
Mr. Trudeau “has been claiming for months that he had no involvement in or knowledge of the invitation of a former Nazi soldier to the visit of the Ukrainian President,” Mr. Poilievre said.
He added that since Mr. Trudeau supported the resignation of Mr. Rota, he should hold himself to the same standard and “admit that he is not fit for office.”
Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman said ”the invitation had the Prime Minister’s name on it. It came from him, and for months he said only the Speaker invited him. It turned out not to be true.”
“The Speaker resigned because of him and all of them watched him do it. So will the Prime Minister be subject to the rules that he imposes on everyone else?”
Conservative MP Marty Morantz accused the Prime Minister in Question Period of throwing Mr. Rota “under the bus.”
“He forced the speaker to resign, to take the fall so he could avoid responsibility and cling to power,” Mr. Morantz said.
Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer earlier raised a point of privilege in the Commons, saying Mr. Trudeau’s claim that he had no knowledge of Mr. Hunka was “absurd” as he had sent him an invitation to a reception he was hosting in Mr. Zelensky’s honour.
The invitation from the Prime Minister to “a special event” at Fort York Armoury in Toronto on the evening was sent to Mr. Hunka on Sept. 19 by the Office of Protocol of Canada.
The invitation, seen by The Globe and Mail after being released under access to information, was sent to Mr. Hunka under the subject line “Invitation from the Prime Minister of Canada – September 22, 2023.”
The Prime Minister’s spokesperson, Ann-Clara Vaillancourt, told The Globe Monday that Mr. Hunka was recommended to attend by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, and with hindsight, should not have been invited to the reception. The reception for Mr. Zelensky was attended by more than 1,000 people.
Mr. Trudeau deflected Conservative criticism in Question Period by referring to the Conservatives’ opposition to an updated trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine. “The Conservative Party no longer stands with Ukraine,” he said.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said Mr. Trudeau did not know Mr. Hunka’s name was on the invitation list. “What we are talking about is a name that came from a community organization,” he said.
Mr. Scheer said the ensuing scandal from Mr. Hunka’s ovations saw Mr. Rota “falling on his sword for the Prime Minister.”
The Prime Minister had assured the House at the time that blame lay “exclusively at the then-speaker’s feet,” Mr. Scheer added.
Mr. Rota was sharply criticized by MPs of all stripes for inviting Mr. Hunka, a constituent, to the Commons gallery and not vetting him properly.
But, Mr. Scheer said, the revelation that the Prime Minister had also invited Mr. Hunka to a formal event later that day meant it was plausible that Mr. Rota was told about this and may have assumed inviting Mr. Hunka to the Commons would be acceptable.
Mr. Rota did not respond to a request for comment.