Anthony Rota, 62, of Canada regrets his decision to praise Yaroslav Hunka, 98. The latter is a Canadian citizen of Ukrainian descent.
Currently, Rota lives in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. Born in North Bay, Rota earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, a diploma in finance from Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Ottawa in Ottawa.
Yaroslav Hunka
Hunka was born in Urman, Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine. Urman used to be part of Poland.
In 1943, Hunka volunteered to join the World War II Nazi German military formation Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS [galizische Nr. 1]. The formation was made up predominantly of military volunteers with a Ukrainian ethnic background from the area of Galicia, is a historical and geographic region spanning the present southeastern Poland and western Ukraine.
After the World War II, Hunka moved to the United Kingdom and joined the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain. In 1951, he married Margaret Ann Edgerton and in 1954, they moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada where they raised their sons Martin Edgerton Hunka and Peter Edgerton Hunka.
In 2018, Margaret passed away. In 2022, Yaroslav traveled to Sudbury, Ontario to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Anthony Rota
On October 19, 2025, Rota became a member of the House of Commons of Canada for Nipissing-Timiskaming, Ontario. On December 5, 2019, he became the 37th speaker of the Parliament of Canada’s lower chamber.
On September 22, 2023, Rota introduced and recognized Yaroslav at the Parliament of Canada where Ukraine’s sixth president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 45, delivered remarks. Rota described Yaroslav as a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero.
“We thank him for all his service,” Rota said of Yaroslav. Zelenskyy, his wife Olena Zelenska, 45, and the chamber gave Yaroslav a standing ovation. Human rights and Jewish organizations condemned the recognition of a member of Nazi Germany’s 14th SS Division in World War II.
On September 26, 2023, Poland’s science and higher education minister Przemysław Czarnek, 46, announced stated that Poland may seek to extradite Yaroslav as a war criminal. On the same day, Rota announced his resignation as the House of Commons of Canada speaker, effective on September 27, 2023.
Rota expressed his “profound regret” for his error that “caused pain to individuals and communities, including the Jewish community in Canada and around the world, in addition to survivors of Nazi atrocities in Poland, among other nations”. He said, “I accept full responsibility for my actions.”
CONAN Daily 