Trudeau apologises after Nazi unit war veteran honoured in Canadian Parliament
Ottawa (PTI): Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologised for the Canadian Parliament's recognition of a man who fought for a Nazi unit during World War II, an incident that drew global condemnation and was termed by the Opposition as the "biggest single diplomatic embarrassment" in the country's history.
Trudeau, already under pressure for jeopardising Canada's relations with India over the killing of a Khalistani separatist in Canada, said the Canadian government has reached out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was present during the event last Friday, in the wake of the incident.
Russia has painted his enemies in Ukraine as "neo-Nazis" after the incident although Zelenskyy is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust.
Speaker Anthony Rota, who has assumed responsibility for inviting Yaroslav Hunka, 98, resigned on Tuesday. The incident has drawn global condemnation.
Hunka, who fought with a Nazi unit in World War Two, got a standing ovation and was praised as a Ukrainian and Canadian "hero".
He served in the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, a voluntary unit made up mostly of ethnic Ukrainians under Nazi command.
Division members are accused of killing Polish and Jewish civilians, although the unit has not been found guilty of any war crimes by a tribunal.
"This was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada. All of us who were in this House on Friday regret deeply having stood and clapped even though we did so, unaware of the context," Trudeau told reporters, indicating his plans to personally address the House of Commons about the controversy for the first time since it exploded.
He called the incident a "horrendous violation" of the memory of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust and said it was "deeply, deeply painful" for Jewish people, as well as members of the Polish, Roma, and LGBTQ2S+ communities who were also "targeted by the Nazi genocide", CTV News reported.
"Every year, there are fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors to share firsthand the horrors of what they experienced. And it is therefore incumbent upon us all to ensure that no one ever forgets what happened," Trudeau added before entering the chamber to offer similar remarks.
It was the first time the prime minister personally addressed the House of Commons about the controversy since it exploded.
Facing a series of pointed questions about the internationally condemned situation that transpired during Zelenskyy's address last Friday, Trudeau noted the Speaker was "solely responsible" for Hunka's recognition.
Still, Trudeau said Canada is "deeply sorry" for the position this has put Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation in, calling it "extremely troubling" that such an egregious error, and the images captured of the moment, are being used as propaganda by Russia and its supporters to amplify false narratives about what Ukraine is fighting for.
"Friday's joint session was about what Canada stands for, about our steadfast support of Ukraine's fight against Putin's brutality, lies and violence. It was a moment to celebrate and acknowledge the sacrifices of Ukrainians as they fight for their democracy, their freedom, their language and culture, and for peace. This is the side Canada was on in WW II, and this is the side we are on today," said the prime minister.
While Rota's resignation calmed some of the initial acrimony, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh were among those pushing for Trudeau to heed requests from Jewish advocacy groups for a personal apology, noting that it wasn't enough for the Canadians who were feeling the shame the mistake had caused.
Poilievre said inviting Hunka to attend Zelenskyy's historic address to Parliament is the "biggest single diplomatic embarrassment" in the country's history.
Poilievre blamed Trudeau for the mishap despite Rota's assertion that he alone was responsible for inviting the incident.
In the question period, Singh questioned why it took Trudeau so long to say sorry, while Poilievre said Trudeau's apology on behalf of the country didn't go far enough.
The Conservative leader repeatedly called on the prime minister to take personal responsibility for his "personal failure" to vet all attendees, despite the Speaker's guest list not being shared with the Prime Minister's Office in advance, per parliamentary protocol.
For events such as parliamentary addresses, each party in the House is granted a certain allotment of invitations and while a central protocol office compiles those submissions to send the invites, the lists are not shared between parties but are shared with corporate security to facilitate accreditation, according to the Speaker's office.
"When foreign heads of state come here they expect that they will be protected, not only against security threats, but against massive global scale embarrassments and shames like the one he allowed to unfold before Canadians. So, will the prime minister commit to personally calling President Zelenskyy?" Poilievre asked.
While the prime minister did not directly address this question about calling Zelenskyy, his office told CTV News that apologies were made to the Ukrainians at the "ministerial level."
At the moment, the prime minister instead clapped back, questioning why Poilievre has not apologised for a trio of his MPs meeting with far-right German politician Christine Anderson earlier this year.
"If the leader of the Opposition wants the government to help him vet those his MPs meet with, we'd be more than happy to give him some better advice," Trudeau said.
Bilateral relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau's allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.
Last week, India rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
