OTTAWA, Ontario – Canada’s House of Commons elected Greg Fergus as its new speaker on Tuesday. This makes the Liberal lawmaker the first black Canadian to hold the position.
The election was triggered by the resignation of Anthony Rota, who resigned last week after inviting and honoring a man who fought for a Nazi military unit in World War II.
Shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Canadian Parliament last month, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.
Later, observers revealed that the First Ukrainian Division was also known as the Waffen-SS-Division Galizien or 14. SS-Waffendivision, a volunteer unit that was under Nazi command. Rota later apologized and said he was not aware of it.
Fergus, 54, is a Liberal MP from Quebec.
After lawmakers elected him to office in a secret vote, he pledged to lead with respect and encouraged his fellow lawmakers to respect each other. Canadians are watching, he noted.
“The speaker is, to use the old hockey analogy, nothing more than a referee,” Fergus said in his first speech from the chair. “And one thing I know: Nobody pays good money to go to the referee. They go to see the stars: you.”
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