Canada parliamentary speaker to quit after publicly praising Nazi

Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota speaks during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Blair Gable

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The speaker of Canada's House of Commons lower chamber on Tuesday said he would quit, a few days after he publicly praised a former Nazi soldier in Parliament in an incident that Russia said helped justify its war on Ukraine.

Anthony Rota told legislators he had made a mistake by inviting ex-soldier Yaroslav Hunka, 98, to attend a session in the House honoring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last Friday. Rota publicly recognised Hunka, calling him a hero.