Former vice president of France’s National Front and president of Les Patriotes, Florian Philippot, said in a social media post that it is necessary to “stop supporting the Nazi excesses of the Kiev regime” following the double scandals of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s honoring of a Nazi and his backing of anti-India Sikh separatist forces, known as Khalistanis.
Philippot, in a post on X about Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote: “These two recently honoured a former Waffen-SS soldier in the Canadian Parliament! An old Ukrainian Nazi. Now, they are trying to pretend they did not know about it. What an ‘unfortunate tribute’ is that? Let us no longer accept these lies: let us stop supporting the Nazi excesses of the Kiev regime! Let us stop financing this horror! Let us work for peace! Quickly!”
Ces 2 hommes ont honoré tout récemment un ancien de la Waffen-SS au sein du parlement canadien !
Ce vieux nazi est ukrainien.
Ils essaient maintenant de faire croire qu’ils ne savaient pas. Que c’est « un hommage malencontreux » !….
N’acceptons pas ces mensonges : arrêtons de… pic.twitter.com/NmZuRHG8Pf
— Florian Philippot (@f_philippot) September 26, 2023
During World War II, Yaroslav Hunka, 98, was a member of the Ukrainian First Division, also known as the Galician Division. These troops worked with the SS, the paramilitary unit of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party (1889–1945). Based in the Galicia region of Ukraine, the division was incorporated into Nazi Germany’s 14th SS Grenadier Division and was responsible for several war crimes. Yet, despite his role in this division, Hunka received applause and accolades from the Canadian parliament.
The tribute to the former SS outraged Russia and was condemned by the United Nations and the anti-fascist movement in Israel. Poland even demanded an apology from Canada and the extradition of the honored Ukrainian soldier.
“In view of the scandalous events in the Canadian Parliament, which involved honouring, in the presence of President Zelenskyy, a member of the criminal Nazi SS Galizien formation, I have taken steps towards the possible extradition of this man to Poland”, Polish education minister Przemysław Czarnek said in a social media post on September 26.
Hunka was invited to sit in the parliamentary gallery by Speaker Anthony Rota for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address, who introduced the former SS member as a “Ukrainian hero” and a “Canadian hero,” prompting a standing ovation from the entire House of Commons. Rota apologised to the House on September 25, insisting the decision to invite Hunka was entirely his own, and effectively ‘took the bullet’ for Trudeau by announcing his resignation the next day.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions”, Rota said on September 26. “My resignation is effective at the end of the sitting day tomorrow, Wednesday, September 27, to allow preparations for the election of a new speaker. Until that time, the deputy speakers will chair the House proceedings”.
Opposition parties, who have also used the previous but recent scandal involving Khalistan separatists to attack Trudeau, maintained that it would not be enough for Rota to apologies for inviting Hunka.
“The Speaker has to be above reproach. This is an unforgivable error that puts the entire House in disrepute. Unfortunately, I believe a sacred trust has been broken”, said NDP MP Peter Julian, the party’s House leader.
Trudeau has not had much to say for his part, only commenting on September 26 that the incident was “deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians.” That was preceded by his ridiculous attempt a day earlier to distract Canadians from his hosting of a Nazi in parliament by trying to divert attention to Russia, saying, “I think it’s going to be really important that all of us push back against Russian disinformation and continue our steadfast unequivocal support for Ukraine”.
But as the post by Florian Philippot suggests, the global community is not being fooled by Trudeau’s distractive methods, so Canadians certainly will not be since they endure the consequences of his actions and statements.
In fact, Trudeau has even become the butt of many jokes in India, with Deepak Vohra, a former Indian ambassador to Sudan, jokingly saying on December 25, “When Justin Trudeau came to India for the G20 this month, his plane was full of cocaine. He did not come out of his room for two days”.
“My wife saw him at the Delhi airport and said that Trudeau looked depressed and stressed. We don’t know the reason. I don’t know the reality, but social media and some ‘credible rumours’ suggest that his plane was full of cocaine. He also missed the President’s dinner as some people say that he was not in his senses due to the drug consumption. So, seeing this nothing can be said about what goes on in his mind”, Vohra added.
Trudeau’s office responded to the joke and quite obviously denied it. The fact that the joke about “credible accusations”, which Trudeau says about information he has on India’s involvement in the murder of a Khalistani leader, was lost on the Canadian prime minister is quite telling.
With criticism growing, the Canadian leader softened his stance by September 28 and claimed it was important to “constructively and seriously” engage with India.
“India is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. And as we presented our Indo-Pacific strategy just last year, we’re very serious about building closer ties with India”, the National Post quoted him saying.
It is too late, though, and India will likely be uninterested in repairing relations with Canada until Trudeau is out of office.
Yet, despite all these gaffs, it is unlikely that Trudeau will end his support for the Kiev regime or Khalistani separatists. The case of Hunka should serve as another example of the prevalence of Nazism in Ukraine, even to the point that they are hidden within diaspora communities. The reality is that Canada will continue supporting the Kiev regime and other terrorist elements until the US finally withdraws their support.
