Nazi in the House: Who is to be Blamed?

Speaking as a concerned citizen of Canada 🇨🇦,  Pierre Poilievre pushing this issue and politicizing it for his apparent political gain is bringing more public and international disgrace to Canada than anyone else. He and his conservative caucus should remember this is the office they are fighting for, and what goes around comes around. Trying to shift the onus from Speaker Anthony Rota to PM Justin Trudeau is unfair and unintelligent, making the situation more hurtful and harmful.

Notwithstanding, I believe that Rota should resign as he has. If Rota knew that 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka (shown in title image) fought for Ukraine 🇺🇦 in WWII, he should have known or ought to have known which side he fought for and that he is, in fact, a Nazi. Given the guest of honour, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a President at war with Russia 🇷🇺 and a Jew, Rota should have thoroughly vetted the war vet. He would have realized that he was not worthy to be in the presence of the House of Parliament 🇨🇦. He should have never been invited, never mind being honoured. It makes me wonder how many times have they done similar things to other groups that are less cared about.

The question is, should PM Trudeau apologize? Maybe, maybe not. On the one hand, he should apologize on behalf of Canada as head of state and appease the various communities that it has impacted. On the other hand, forcing Trudeau to apologize is like forcing an innocent person to plead guilty to a crime they know nothing about. But that is the imperial system that they have created. 

The problem is, when we put too much trust and confidence in one person, we will inevitably fail at some point. No mortals are infallible. Everyone should always do their due diligence, especially when protecting others. But how would the Prime Minister office (PMO) know if Rota had such power and kept a tight lip about his plan? No one person should have so much power or be free of scrutiny. Keeping secrets is precisely how things go wrong and stay wrong. Or were there ulterior motives? Perhaps, Rota enthusiasm to surprise Zelenskyy with a Ukrainian war hero overrode his judgment and has thus backfired massively. Because of his secret invitation and honour, he must resign in disgrace instead of retiring with a feather in his cap.

That said, if the PMO should apologize, so should the opposition office. They also have a stake in ensuring that high-profile officials are protected. By that, I mean it is the office they are fighting for. Moving forward, all parties should have full disclosure and cross-check each other's guest lists to avoid such and any future embarrassment.

In sum, Poilievre clearly does not understand politics, security, or international affairs. Frankly speaking, I would never vote for a party that is more interested in spreading misinformation and politicking than finding common ground and mitigating damage. He seems very deceptive to me. Perhaps he should take a lesson in diplomacy from Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP).