House drafts new guidelines around guests following Nazi scandal

A draft outlining new measures for vetting parliamentary guests is being circulated to all House leaders.

The move comes following a scandal from earlier this year after a former Nazi veteran received a standing ovation from the House during a visit from Ukraine’s president.

Former House speaker and Liberal MP Anthony Rota introduced Yaroslav Hunka to the house as a war hero before a speech from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

At first it wasn’t clear what role Hunka had played during the war, but it was later revealed that he had fought for an infamous Waffen-SS unit known as the Galicia Division, a volunteer unit established in Ukraine that was created by the Nazi’s to help fight the Soviet Union.

READ MORE: House Speaker called to resign after honouring man who fought in Nazi unit

The scandal led to Rota’s resignation and received widespread condemnation from both members of the House and the international community.

Members of the House who unknowingly applauded Hunka called the incident an international embarrassment.

While there was already a vetting process in place for sitting guests, a former spokesperson for Rota clarified that it was for “physical security threats, not reputation threats.”

It remains unclear what the new measures will entail, but a spokesperson for Fergus says that feedback from House leaders will be shared with the Speaker before the guideline goes out to the rest of the House’s members.

This report was created with files from The Canadian Press 

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