The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) has refuted claims from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that it was their fault a Nazi collaborator was recognized in Parliament, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Last September MPs honoured ex-Waffen SS member Yaroslav Hunka with a standing ovation in the House of Commons. The PMO also invited Hunka to a “special event” at the congress in Toronto that same week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office immediately denied any responsibility for the VIP treatment of a Nazi veteran and instead blamed the UCC. However, the CEO of the UCC Ihor Michalchyshyn testified Thursday at the House Affairs Committee that the congress “never interacted with the Speaker’s office.”“We received a letter from him apologizing a week later,” said Michalchyshyn.“We had no involvement and never spoke to the Speaker’s office or to the Hunka family about his invitation to Parliament. I have no insight into who was invited to Parliament or not.”Michalchyshyn did acknowledge the UCC had submitted Hunka’s name to the PMO as a guest at the Ukrainian community rally in Toronto on a list that was extensive and not vetted. “We are a small non-profit organization. We have lists of donors, we have lists of volunteers, we have lists of member organizations. Those are the kind of lists I have at hand and was able to provide,” said the CEO. “We were contacted to do a broad invitation to thousands of people in Toronto so we provided a list of every past donor, volunteer and community organization board of directors that we had to receive an invitation. I do not know who was or wasn’t invited at the end but his name appeared on a list that we forwarded, yes.”When asked if there was any criteria for the list, Michalchyshyn said, "The criteria we were asked for the Toronto rally, not Parliament, for the Toronto rally, we were just asked to identify community organizers and leaders and people who had been involved.”Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon had testified February 13 that it was unequivocally the UCC and not the Trudeau Liberals that sponsored the tribute of the Nazi in parliament. “The name of the individual we are discussing in these proceedings was submitted by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress,” MacKinnon insisted. The 98-year-old Nazi collaborator, from North Bay, ON, was presented as a “Canadian hero.” While Cabinet says they didn’t know Hunka’s background, his story had been published in a 2011 edition of a Ukrainian veterans’ periodical. In the article, Hunka admitted he was a volunteer with the 14 Waffen SS Grenadier Division, a group that was designated a criminal organization by the 1946 Nuremberg Tribunal.Richard Marceau, VP of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, told the committee Thursday Hunka’s VIP treatment on Parliament Hill was painful to experience. “We are talking about an invitation issued to Yaroslav Hunka, a veteran of the Waffen SS in World War Two,” said Marceau.“Let’s be clear. This was a volunteer unit.”“The Nuremberg Tribunal said the Waffen SS was a criminal organization involved in the massacre of Jews during World War Two. Let us be clear what we’re talking about. This man was officially recognized by the House of Commons Speaker and received an ovation.”
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) has refuted claims from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that it was their fault a Nazi collaborator was recognized in Parliament, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Last September MPs honoured ex-Waffen SS member Yaroslav Hunka with a standing ovation in the House of Commons. The PMO also invited Hunka to a “special event” at the congress in Toronto that same week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office immediately denied any responsibility for the VIP treatment of a Nazi veteran and instead blamed the UCC. However, the CEO of the UCC Ihor Michalchyshyn testified Thursday at the House Affairs Committee that the congress “never interacted with the Speaker’s office.”“We received a letter from him apologizing a week later,” said Michalchyshyn.“We had no involvement and never spoke to the Speaker’s office or to the Hunka family about his invitation to Parliament. I have no insight into who was invited to Parliament or not.”Michalchyshyn did acknowledge the UCC had submitted Hunka’s name to the PMO as a guest at the Ukrainian community rally in Toronto on a list that was extensive and not vetted. “We are a small non-profit organization. We have lists of donors, we have lists of volunteers, we have lists of member organizations. Those are the kind of lists I have at hand and was able to provide,” said the CEO. “We were contacted to do a broad invitation to thousands of people in Toronto so we provided a list of every past donor, volunteer and community organization board of directors that we had to receive an invitation. I do not know who was or wasn’t invited at the end but his name appeared on a list that we forwarded, yes.”When asked if there was any criteria for the list, Michalchyshyn said, "The criteria we were asked for the Toronto rally, not Parliament, for the Toronto rally, we were just asked to identify community organizers and leaders and people who had been involved.”Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon had testified February 13 that it was unequivocally the UCC and not the Trudeau Liberals that sponsored the tribute of the Nazi in parliament. “The name of the individual we are discussing in these proceedings was submitted by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress,” MacKinnon insisted. The 98-year-old Nazi collaborator, from North Bay, ON, was presented as a “Canadian hero.” While Cabinet says they didn’t know Hunka’s background, his story had been published in a 2011 edition of a Ukrainian veterans’ periodical. In the article, Hunka admitted he was a volunteer with the 14 Waffen SS Grenadier Division, a group that was designated a criminal organization by the 1946 Nuremberg Tribunal.Richard Marceau, VP of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, told the committee Thursday Hunka’s VIP treatment on Parliament Hill was painful to experience. “We are talking about an invitation issued to Yaroslav Hunka, a veteran of the Waffen SS in World War Two,” said Marceau.“Let’s be clear. This was a volunteer unit.”“The Nuremberg Tribunal said the Waffen SS was a criminal organization involved in the massacre of Jews during World War Two. Let us be clear what we’re talking about. This man was officially recognized by the House of Commons Speaker and received an ovation.”
