Has it really come down to this?

NDP Members of Parliament acted like trained seals, when they gave two standing ovations to a Nazi guest in the House of Commons last Friday.

We would have thought at least some NDP MPs should have known better. As some historians and political pundits have pointed out, fighting Russia in World War II probably meant supporting Hitler.

Before we tar all the NDP MPs with the same brush, let’s take a look at the erudition, educational backgrounds and professional roles some of them have. Let’s see if the following eight leading NDP MPs should have known better.

Randall Garrison, MP for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, has a Master’s degree in political science.  Before going into politics, he was a community college instructor at Camosun College where his specialty was Pacific Rim Studies, and criminal justice.  Earlier he worked in international aid on peace building and religious rights in Indonesia.  He has visited Afghanistan where he investigated human rights violations.

Carol Hughes, is the NDP’s assistant deputy speaker.  She has been an MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing for 15 years.  She was formerly a Canadian Labour Congress staff representative.

Heather McPherson, MP for Edmonton Strathcona, is the NDP’s foreign affairs critic. She has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education.

Don Davies, MP for Vancouver Kingsway, has a law degree from the University of Alberta. He was the executive assistant to Ray Martin, former leader of the Alberta NDP.  He was director of legal services for Teamsters Canada (Local 31), and a member of Lawyers for Social Responsibility.

Laurel Collins, MP for Victoria, has a master’s degree in Human Security and Peace Building from Royal Roads University. 

Niki Ashton, MP for Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, has a bachelor’s degree in global political economy and a master’s degree in international affairs.  Formerly, she was a university lecturer and researcher.

Alexandre Boulerice, MP for the Quebec riding of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie has a master’s degree in political science.  Before becoming an MP, he was a TV journalist and active in his local union, CUPE.  He also worked as communications consultant for CUPE. Back in 2017, he wrote that World War I was “a purely capitalist war [fought] on the backs of the workers and peasants”—one wonders what he thinks of NATO’s role in the current Russia-Ukraine war.

Jagmeet Singh, MP for Burnaby South, is the NDP leader.  He’s been elected to Parliament three times.  Before that he was a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario.  He was deputy leader of the Ontario NDP.  By profession, Singh is a criminal defence lawyer.

Didn’t even one of the NDP MPs have their spidey sense tingling about Hunka??  All these MPs have degrees, experience, and probably relatives who fought against the Nazis in WWII.  Not one declined to standup for Hunka, who at the very least fought for the Nazis.  And now, days later, not one NDP MP has apologized.

Below: SS Oberfuhrer Fritz Freitag (left), a fanatical Nazi who was directly involved in the mass murder of Jews, takes a salute from the newly formed 14th SS Division Galicia. Supporters of the 14th SS falsely claim that division members never supported the Nazis. (photo taken from Esprit de Corps, Canadian Military Magazine: the article by David Pugliese is here)

Pro-Ukrainian hysteria

There is a huge problem here.  It is a problem driven by the current pro-Ukrainian hysteria and hatred of Russia. I’d say it was about the fight against Communism but that would be wrong, as Russia no longer even pretends to be socialist. 

It is amazing that the efforts by Chrystia Freeland have gained so much traction.  As deputy PM, Freeland has pushed the vilification of Russia and total support for Ukraine to the limits.  It began in 2017 with her public idolizing of her deceased grandfather, Michael Chomiak who had been a propagandist for the Nazis.  He, along with thousands of Ukrainian Nazis, received safe haven in Canada after WWII.  During the war, Chomiak was the editor of Krakivski Visti, a Ukrainian newspaper associated with the Nazi regime.  As the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum notes, “In 1943 and 1944, …Krakivski Visti hailed the German-approved formation of the 14^th Waffen SS Division Halychyna, composed of Ukrainian volunteers.”

Chrystia Freeland’s ego

It was Freeland’s huge ego that insisted on ensuring that Canada did anything  to shovel money to the military in Ukraine.  In fact, Trudeau just announced on Friday that Canada would give another $680 million to help Ukraine militarily. This brings the amount Canada has spent to arm Ukraine to $4.85 billion in the last 18 months.

Vlodymy Zelenskyy also has an inflated ego.  He sat confident as a guest in the House of Commons and then rose enthusiastically to recognise Hunka.  Surely Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, and had many relatives killed in the Holocaust had his doubts about Hunka.  However, Zelenskyy has long excused the far-right neo-Nazi Azov Battalion that he allows to be part  of the Ukrainian armed forces. 

After wrongly leading the House of Commons’ applause in recognition of former Nazi Yaroslav Hunka,  PM Trudeau still refused to understand what he had done.  Rather than apologizing for the insult to all Canadians, he insisted,

“I think it’s going to be really important that all of us push back against Russian disinformation and continue our steadfast unequivocal support for Ukraine.” 

In other words, slapping Russia is more important than correcting the historical record and shunning a Nazi in the House of Commons. 

Is there no historical memory among politicians, or journalists for that matter?  Wasn’t WWII a war to fight fascism? A war in which millions of Jews, Russians, Poles – and 45,000 Canadians lost their lives? 

Also worth noting: In March 2023, Yaroslav Hunka was welcomed as a “Friend of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.” However as of today, the UCC has made no comment nor have they disavowed Yaroslav Hunka.

Featured photo at the top: Yaroslav Hunka, right, waits for the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle)