Is it true that the Canadian parliament gave a standing ovation to a former SS man from Ukraine?

In September 2023, news spread across news resources about how Canadian deputies, together with their Prime Minister and the President of Ukraine, applauded a veteran of the Galicia division. We have verified the veracity of such publications.

As reported in the media and social networks, on September 22, during a visit to the Canadian parliament, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, in the presence of his colleague Justin Trudeau, greeted with applause the 98-year-old Ukrainian SS soldier Yaroslav Gunka, who has lived in North America for many years. News publications noted that the former member of the SS Galicia division also received an ovation from deputies - according to some resources, because he fought against the Russians.

Many pro-Russian resources wrote about this case, such as the TV channelConstantinople", "Ren-TV" And RT. The news was widely spread on Telegram - in particular, in the channels Readovka (1.1 million views at the time of writing this analysis), “Before everyone else. Well almost"(537,000), "Pool N3"(510,000), "Caution news"(497,000), "Kornilov"(464,000), "Operation Z: Military Correspondents of the Russian Spring" (454,000) and "Solovyov"(314,000).

On September 21-22, 2023, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky together with the First Lady on a working visit visited Canada. In the trip program were announced negotiations with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on cooperation in the military and economic spheres, as well as meetings with representatives of the public, business and the Ukrainian diaspora. On September 22, a ceremonial meeting of the Canadian Parliament took place, at which Zelensky addressed legislators with speech. Upon its completion, Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota stated:

In the audience today is a Ukrainian-Canadian World War II veteran who fought for Ukraine's independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today, even at the age of 98. His name is Yaroslav Gunka. <…> He is a hero of Ukraine and a hero of Canada, and we thank him for all his service. Thank you!

All those present, including Zelensky and Trudeau, standing applauded veteran.

Soon a scandal broke out. Readers of the Associated Press noticed that under photography honoring Yaroslav Gunka in the Canadian Parliament it is said that during World War II he served in the 1st Ukrainian division. This subdivision, known until April 1945 as the 14th SS Volunteer Infantry Division "Galicia" ("Galicia"), is suspected of the mass murder of Poles and Jews during the war. In 2016, the Polish Sejm qualified as genocide, the actions of the division’s fighters against the civilian Polish population of a number of villages in the historical region of Galicia. After the surrender of Nazi Germany, former fighters of “Galicia” were kept in prisoner of war camps, and in 1947, after liberation, most of the veterans moved to Canada, USA and UK. In 1984, the famous "Nazi hunter" Simon Wiesenthal presented a list of 217 “Galicia” veterans who, according to his data, lived outside of Europe. Canadian authorities conducted their own investigation and found that 187 of them never set foot on Canadian soil, 11 died in the country, two moved, one disappeared, and of the 16 living residents of Canada, none took part in the war crimes of which “Galicia” is accused - at least this has not been proven.

And if Yaroslav Gunka is not very well known in Canada, then in his homeland people are better aware of his activities. Gunka is an honorary citizen Berezhany (Ternopil region), and on the official website of the city it is said that in September 1943 he joined the ranks of “Galicia”, in 1954 he moved to Canada, and after Ukraine gained independence he was engaged in philanthropy.

September 24 Canadian Center for Holocaust Studies "Friends of Simon Wiesenthal” published a statement in which he expressed outrage at the fact that a former SS soldier was being honored: “The fact that a veteran who served in a Nazi military unit was invited to parliament and received a standing ovation is shocking.” The next day, the Polish Ambassador in Ottawa Witold Dzielski, recalling that, according to Warsaw, the SS Galicia division was responsible for the murder of thousands of Poles and Jews, said: “Although Poland is Ukraine’s best ally, it will never agree with the whitewashing of such villains. As Poland's Ambassador to Canada, I expect an apology." They did not fail to reproach Justin Trudeau for Russophobia and abuse of the victims of Nazism and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Prime Minister himself named what happened in Parliament is a disgrace for Canada, representatives of the opposition Conservative Party demanded explanations from political opponents. Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota had to apologize for the situation, and he invited Gunka to the ceremonial meeting. He stated, that he knew nothing about the Nazi past of a Ukrainian living in the Rota constituency. Moreover, no one, including his colleagues in parliament and members of the Ukrainian delegation, knew about the speaker’s intention to represent the veteran in parliament. Rota addressed a special apology to the Jewish communities of Canada and around the world, taking full responsibility for the error. The Canadian Jewish group Center for Israeli and Jewish Affairs thanked the politician for his apology, but stressed the need for thorough checks to avoid a repeat of the incident.

Thus, unlike many cases, when false information was spreading in the Russian-language media and social networks about Nazism allegedly being revived in the West, an episode in the Canadian parliament actually happened - apparently due to a mistake by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Cover photo: screenshot CBS News

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