Justin Trudeau’s government is recovering from a difficult week at the diplomatic level after a Ukrainian veteran of a Nazi unit during World War II received a controversial ovation and recognition in the Canadian Parliament.
In an interview with Behind the Scenes of Power on ICI Radio-Canada, Prime Minister Steven MacKinnon takes stock of a difficult episode for parliamentarians.
It wasn’t the best day for the Speaker of the House of Commons and him [Anthony Rota] paid the price.
After the admission of the mistake made, heated debates, the resignation of House Speaker Anthony Rota and diplomatic apologies from Prime Minister Trudeau, it is time for the Liberal government to take stock.
For Steven MacKinnon, responsibility for this mistake has been accepted and the government wants to move on.
Mr MacKinnon stressed that the debates had gone very far. Conservatives have particularly questioned the background check process for guests in the House of Representatives. The bloc demanded a personal apology from Justin Trudeau.
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Anthony Rota will announce his resignation as Speaker of the House of Commons on September 26, 2023.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld
Lessons for the next presidency
Repairing the damage remains a shared task for MPs, even though the government has undertaken numerous diplomatic activities – particularly with President Zelensky.
“Everyone on our side, in our constituencies, needs to heal wounds after what happened, especially among veterans,” emphasizes Steven MacKinnon.
One of the lessons to be learned from last week’s diplomatic blunder is to speak up when a guest is recognized by the next Speaker of the House.
Mr. MacKinnon is categorical: If the president has wide discretion in choosing guests and his speeches, an additional check will be carried out to avoid another mistake.
The next President will have learned a lesson and we can be sure that future Speakers of the House of Commons will carry out additional scrutiny when they decide to introduce a guest to all MPs.
As for the future of ousted House Speaker Anthony Rota, who is also the MP for Nipissing-Temiskaming, he would retain his seat and remains welcome in the Liberal caucus. The Liberal assures us: He already has an assigned place in the House of Commons.
As soon as President Rota resigned, names from all parties regarding his successor were heard in the corridors of the House of Commons.
Liberal MPs Alexandra Mendès, Greg Fergus, Sean Casey and Peter Schiefke have already confirmed their interest.
Among the opposition parties we find the Conservative Chris d’Entremont, the NDP MP Carol Hughes and Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party.
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Shortly after Anthony Rota’s resignation, several names of deputies who wanted to replace him were circulating behind the scenes. From left to right: Alexandra Mendès, Chris d’Entremont, Greg Fergus and Carol Hughes.
Photo: The Canadian Press
Parliamentarians will elect their next president in a secret vote that will take place next Tuesday.
Towards a declassification of the Deschênes Commission documents?
The presence of Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Hunka in parliament – the crux of the controversy – has reignited calls for the declassification of historical documents related to World War II. This application was supported by 18 Jewish and civil society organizations.
In 1985, the Deschênes Commission was tasked with investigating the alleged presence in the country of World War II war criminals who had found refuge in Canada. His report was never published in full.
Wars leave traces, scars. It takes a very, very long time, as we’ve seen this week, and it brings us back to a consideration that we obviously have to make about these questions. I think each of us can do it on our own.
A House of Commons commission investigating Canada’s access to the information system has already recommended that all documents be published in full after 25 years.
On the sidelines of a press briefing on Wednesday, the Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, raised this possibility.
There was a time in our history when it was easier to enter Canada as a Nazi than as a Jew. “I think this is a story we need to clear up,” Minister Miller said Wednesday.