House Speaker Rota faces numerous calls for resignation

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Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota speaks during Question Period in Ottawa on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is calling for Speaker Anthony Rota to listen to members of the House of Commons and “step down.”

Ms. Joly made the comments on Parliament Hill on Tuesday morning ahead of a cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“What happened on Friday is completely unacceptable. It was an embarrassment to the House and to Canadians, and I think the speaker should listen to members of the House and step down,” Ms. Joly said.

Mr. Rota is facing mounting political pressure to resign as Speaker after a 98-year-old man who fought with a Nazi unit during the Second World War, Yaroslav Hunka, was honoured Friday during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Bloc Québécois and New Democrats called for Mr. Rota’s resignation on Monday.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter ,that Mr. Trudeau and the Speaker, who is a Liberal MP, have “brought shame on Canada” and that Mr. Rota “will have to resign.”

“That does not excuse Justin Trudeau’s failure to have his massive diplomatic and intelligence apparatus vet and prevent honouring a Nazi,” Mr. Poilievre said.

Mr. Trudeau said Tuesday that he expects that Mr. Rota is considering his future as Speaker.

“As I said yesterday, this was deeply embarrassing for the House and for Canada,” Mr. Trudeau told journalists ahead of sitting down with cabinet. “It is a good thing that Speaker Rota apologized personally and I am sure he is reflecting now on how to ensure the dignity of the House going forward.”

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Mr. Rota was scheduled to meet Tuesday with the parliamentary House Leaders.

“I am sure they will have very important conversations,” Mr. Trudeau said.

Government House Leader Karina Gould also said it is time for Mr. Rota to exit.

“I can’t see, based on the conversations I have had, how he can continue to have the support of Liberal members of Parliament. I think it’s time for him to do the honorable thing,” Ms. Gould said as she arrived for Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center also issued a statement on Tuesday calling for Mr. Rota to resign.

The organization said that while Mr. Rota has apologized, the incident “compromised all 338 Members of Parliament and has also handed a propaganda victory to Russia, distracting from what was a momentously significant display of unity between Canada and Ukraine.”

“It has also caused great pain to Canada’s Jewish community, Holocaust survivors, veterans and other victims of the Nazi regime,” the organization said.

The centre also called for the Parliamentary Procedure and House Affairs Committee to hold public hearings to investigate what took place, vetting process failures and propose measures to ensure that no such incident could ever happen again.

Mr. Rota apologized to the House of Commons for his error in judgment on Monday. He invited Mr. Hunka from his riding of North Bay, Ont., to Parliament on Friday and called him a hero, prompting two standing ovations.

“It was my decision and I apologize profusely,” Mr. Rota said. “It may not be good enough for some of you, and for that I apologize.”

Retired Conservative senator Noel Kinsella, the second-longest-serving Speaker in the Upper Chamber, said Tuesday that Mr. Rota should step down to protect the honor of Canada and Parliament.

Mr. Kinsella said Mr. Rota’s staff had let him down by failing to do a proper background check on Mr. Hunka but that does not absolve the Commons Speaker of his responsibility to do the right thing.

“He must do the honorable thing and resign for the good of the Parliament,” he said. “What happened is an offence to President Zelensky and against the memory of the Jewish community. It is going international and it is hurting Canada and Parliament’s reputation.”

Mr. Kinsella was speaker in the Senate from 2006 to 2014.

Poland is also considering possible extradition of Mr. Hunka.

-With files from Robert Fife