Speaker of the Parliament of Canada Anthony Rota resigned amid a scandal over the invitation of Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Hunka, who fought in the Galicia Division

Speaker of the Canadian Parliament Anthony Rota resigned after he was criticised for inviting Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Hunka, who fought in the SS-Volunteer Division "Galicia."

The BBC reported this.

"I must step down as your Speaker," Rota said during a parliamentary session.

Rota was urged to resign by members of parliament.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly also called on Anthony Rota, who is a member of the Liberal Party, to "listen to members of the house and step down."

At the same time, Polish Minister of Education Przemysław Czarnek said he had "taken steps" towards extraditing Yaroslav Hunka.

In a letter to the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, Czarnek asked to "urgently check" whether Hunka was wanted for crimes against Poles of Jewish origin, adding that "signs of such crimes are grounds for requesting his extradition from Canada."

It will be recalled that the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada said that Hunka's invitation was a personal initiative of the politician.

Yaroslav Hunka was greeted with a standing ovation and introduced as a hero who "fought for Ukraine's independence during World War II." The veteran of the Galicia Division was applauded by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

It later turned out that the man was a member of the Ukrainian SS-Volunteer Division "Galicia," which fought for the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany in 1943-1945.

However, the Galicia Division was not convicted at the Nuremberg trials.