Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologised on behalf of the Canadian Parliament for honouring a Nazi veteran during an event. however, he refused to accept the blame personally.

Ottawa: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on behalf of the Canadian Parliament, apologized for honoring a Nazi veteran during an event last week. However, he refused to personally accept the blame. The Canadian Opposition criticized PM Trudeau over the incident and demanded an apology, describing it as a significant embarrassment for the country.

On September 22, during his address to the Canadian Parliament, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy, along with Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada Anthony Rota, honoured 98-year-old Ukrainian Yaroslav Hunka. Hunka, who had served in the first Ukrainian division, known as the SS division “Galicia” during World War II, was honoured by the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada Anthony Rota.

“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,” CBC News quoted Trudeau as saying in a brief statement to medipersons.

He also said that the Speaker was “solely responsible” for the invitation and recognition of this man, and “he wholly accepted that responsibility and stepped down”.

“It was a horrendous violation of the memory of the millions of people who died in the Holocaust,” he said, adding the celebration of ex-soldier Yaroslav Hunka was “deeply, deeply painful” to Jewish people, Poles, Roma, the LGBT community and other racialized people in particular — some of the groups that were targeted by the Nazi regime in the Second World War.

The Canadian PM also said that “Canada is deeply sorry” for involving Zelenskyy, who was pictured applauding Hunka — an image that has been exploited by Russian propagandists, CBC News reported. Canada has sent an apology to Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation through diplomatic channels, he added.

According to CBC News, citing Liberal caucus sources, Trudeau told MPs on Wednesday to avoid briefing the press about Hunka’s invitation and the subsequent fallout.

Pierre Poilevre, Canada’s Opposition leader, has taken a potshot at the Trudeau Govt, asking if the country has seen a bigger “diplomatic embarrassment” in history.

“The success of diplomatic visits is the personal responsibility of the Prime Minister of Canada: Justin Trudeau. Instead, we have an unprecedented global embarrassment for our country under his watch. What a disgrace,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Earlier, He termed the incident the “greatest diplomatic embarrassment” in the country’s history.

“Has there ever been a greater diplomatic embarrassment in the history of our country?” he asked.

On Tuesday, Anthony Rota resigned from his position as the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons amidst growing pressure surrounding the controversy, as reported by Canada-based Global News.

Rota officially announced his resignation in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, with the resignation taking effect at the close of business on Wednesday. He stated, “I must step down as your Speaker,” and emphasized, “I reiterate my profound regret.”