BackCanada PM Justin Trudeau calls honouring of Nazi veteran ‘deeply embarrassing to parliament of Canada’
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls the standing ovation for a Nazi soldier in parliament 'extremely upsetting'.
PremiumCanada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the standing ovation given to a Nazi soldier in the country's parliament as ‘extremely upsetting’. He also noted that the speaker of Canada's parliament, Anthony Rota, has apologized for the mistake.
Also Read| Canada's parliament honours a man who fought for Nazis, Speaker apologises later
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trudeau said (as quoted by ANI), "It's extremely upsetting that this happened. The Speaker has acknowledged his mistake and has apologized. But this is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians,"
However, Trudeau warned that the ‘embarrassing’ situation could might help fuel Russia's propaganda since Russian President Vladimir Putin has often said that the Ukraine conflict is about rooting out the Nazis.
Trudeau said, "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 as we did last week by announcing further measures to stand with Ukraine in Russia's illegal war against it," Trudeau said.
Canada's Speaker apologizes:
Canadian speaker of Parliament Anthony Rota while apologizing for the gaffe said (as quoted by Bloomberg), “I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision to recognize this individual…I am deeply sorry that I have offended many with my gesture and remarks."
Also Read| Mint Explainer: How did Canada’s Parliament come to honour a Nazi SS veteran?
"This initiative was entirely my own... I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world," Rota was quoted as saying by Reuters.
In a post on X on September 25, Canada's Leader of Opposition Pierre Poilievre had called the honouring of Nazi soldier ‘an appalling error in judgement’ by PM Trudeau. He wrote, “This is an appalling error in judgement on the part of Justin Trudeau, whose personal protocol office is responsible for arranging and vetting all guests and programming for state visits of this kind."
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