‘None of Us Understood’ Hunka’s Nazi Background, Says Freeland

Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland addresses a crowd at the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto, on June 16, 2022. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says nobody in Parliament knew that Yaroslav Hunka, who was celebrated in the House of Commons, formerly fought for the Nazi SS.

“Obviously, none of us understood, none of us recognized what was happening. And that compounds the very grave error,” Ms. Freeland told reporters on Oct. 5.

“And that makes it really painful for all of us. You know, I see my colleagues here also nodding. No one recognized what was going on. That is terrible. And it is terrible that it happened.”

The finance minister added that the incident had brought “tremendous pain” to communities across Canada, particularly to the country’s Jewish population.

“I think it’s incredibly painful for everyone who was in the House at that time. It was a horrible moment, but it’s not about us. For me, the very real pain is that it’s really, really hurt so many people in Canada, so many communities.”

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Parliament on Sept. 22, then-speaker of the House Anthony Rota recognized Mr. Hunka as a “Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero,” thanking him for his service, before all MPs in the House gave him a standing ovation.

It was later revealed that Mr. Hunka was a former member of the Galicia Waffen SS, a Nazi division accused of war crimes during World War II. Numerous Ukrainians fought the Soviet Union with the Germans during that war, initially seeing them as liberators.

Mr. Rota subsequently apologized for recognizing Mr. Hunka in Parliament and resigned from his role as speaker of the House on Sept. 26.

On Sept. 27, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized on behalf of Parliament. “For all of us who were present, to have unknowingly recognized this individual was a terrible mistake and a violation of the memory of those who suffered grievously at the hands of the Nazi regime,” he said.

Mr. Trudeau added it was “distressing” to see that Russia was using the event to feed their propaganda for their war against Ukraine. Ms. Freeland has been a key player, both at home and abroad, in supporting Kyiv in the conflict.

Both of Ms. Freeland’s maternal grandparents were born in Ukraine, and she herself worked there as a journalist starting in the late 1980s. She also studied Russian history and literature at Harvard.