Parliament's honoring Waffen-SS vet 'greatest diplomatic embarrassment' in Canadian history: Pierre Poilievre

Official Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre called inviting former Waffen-SS soldier Yaroslav Hunka to be recognized and given a standing ovation by Parliament perhaps “the greatest diplomatic embarrassment” in Canadian history.

“Has there ever been a greater diplomatic embarrassment in the history of our country? I mean, literally, in coffee shops and gyms and businesses and boardrooms around the world, people are reading about this massive and shameful disgrace that unfolded under the watch of a Liberal speaker and a Liberal Prime Minister and yet he can't even show up for work. Where is he and why is he hiding?” Poilievre asked during Tuesday’s daily Question Period.

It was the second day in a row that Poilievre chided an absent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for missing Question Period in the House of Commons. Poilievre linked Trudeau’s evasion of responsibility for inviting the former Nazi soldier to Parliament with Trudeau’s infamous blackface routines.

“The prime minister says he's not responsible for our diplomatic reputation, even though that is precisely the job of the head of government. Like when he says he's not responsible for the inflationary spending that led prices and interest rates to rise faster than any time in history; he’s not responsible for housing costs doubling after he promised to lower them.” Poilievre told the House of Commons. “He's not responsible for dressing up in racist costume so many times he can't remember.”

Government House Leader Karina Gould suggested Poilievre was being “very irresponsible” for continuing to raise the issue of Hunka’s invitation to Parliament. 

“Well, I am responsible enough to show up for work,” Poilievre shot back. Gould requested that the incident be "struck from the appendix of the House of Commons debate" and from all multi-media.

However, many thought this was not appropriate. Conservative MP Marty Morantz said “It would be absolutely wrong to strike what was said from the record. It goes without saying that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. What happened on Friday was shameful and brought embarrassment to this chamber. It was an ugly reminder of what survivors of the Holocaust know all too well — we must never forget".