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MPs may dig deeper into how Nazi war vet ended up in the House

Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota leaves the Speakers Chair after announcing he will step down as speaker in the House of Commons, on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 in Ottawa. File photo by The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The House of Commons will resume sitting this morning for the first time since Speaker Anthony Rota officially stepped down from his post.

Rota resigned at the end of business Wednesday after apologizing for inviting a man to Parliament whose military service was linked to the Nazis.

All MPs applauded Yaroslav Hunka on Sept. 22 before they understood he had fought with a Ukrainian military unit set up by Nazi Germany to fight the Soviet Union.

An interim speaker is in place now until Tuesday when a new speaker will be elected by MPs.

The fallout from the incident continues, with MPs expected to call for various House committees to investigate how it could have happened.

MPs expected to dig deeper on how war vet who fought with Nazis ended up in the House. #CDNPoli

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather says Parliament needs to fix the procedures so something like this never happens again.

"It's totally unacceptable that someone with that kind of past was recognized in the chamber," Housefather said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 28, 2023.

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