Tensions flared in the House of Commons on Monday over opposition calls for House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to resign after apologizing to the House of Commons for inviting, recognizing and leading the chamber in a standing ovation for a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.
The problem I see here stems from the fact that the parliament is supposed to represent all Canadians. Honouring a former member of the SS is inconsiderate to those who have suffered from Nazism as well as their descendants here in Canada. Maybe it’s appropriate to honour him in Ukraine as someone who contributed to Ukrainian independence because many there sees Nazism as a lesser evil than Soviet oppression. However I don’t think that’s good enough of a reason for it to be considered appropriate here in Canada.
It is inconsiderate without question. It’s a massive gaffe on our government’s part but it’s still not clear what wrong this guy did. Lots of Germans were fooled into thinking Germany was being attacked when it wasn’t. My best friend is German and his mother is insanely embarrassed by what happened and refuses to talk about it. It’s a huge source of guilt and shame for many Germans but most Germans at one point supported Hitler. That doesn’t make them bad people.
Our Government saw this as a slam dunk against Russia and it backfired in the worst way possible. Maybe our Government will learn from this and no longer invite anyone to the house of commons to avoid any more future gaffes?
What this guy did is irrelevant to the question whether he should be honoured in parliament due to his past as a member of the SS. Because he was not found guilty of war crimes that’s why he’s allowed to live peacefully here in Canada till this day. However, to be honoured in the parliament there has to be evidence of him done overwhelming good. Not committing war crimes as a former Nazi does not meet that threshold for him to be there.
You don’t need to convince me that not all members of the Nazi party are necessarily evil, I never said they are and I don’t care. The question at hand here is whether the individual should be honoured by Canada as a nation.
