On Monday, the Globe and Mail reported that it was Trudeau’s office that invited Hunka to a private reception hosted for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he was visiting Canada.
"Now it’s official – it was PM JustinTrudeau who invited SS criminal to the Parliament last year," the embassy said in a statement shared via X.
The Embassy reacted to media reports and a letter now circulating in which it is written that Trudeau invited Hunka for a private reception on September 22.
“Dear Yaroslav Hunka, The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, is pleased to invite you to a special event. The event will take place on Friday, September 22, 2023, at 8.30 p.m. in Toronto, Ontario,” the letter dated September 19, said.
27 September 2023, 19:19 GMT
Former Speaker of the HoC Anthony Rota had to resign and assume responsibility for supposedly not having made the necessary background screening which had led Canada into a rather embarrassing scandal following the incident.
In September, the 98-year-old Nazi collaborator was invited, allegedly by Rota, to attend Zelensky's address at the Canadian parliament. Hunka was introduced as a hero who fought against the Russians during World War II and received two standing ovations from the entire Canadian legislature.
The honoring of the ex-SS member triggered outcries from Russia, Poland, and other countries, with senior Russian and Polish officials suggesting that Hunka should be extradited to face justice in a court of law.
In October, Hunka was charged in absentia with genocide of civilians during World War II by the Russian Investigative Committee. He is accused of participating in large-scale executions of at least 500 civilians in the Lvov region of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1943-1944.