THE speaker of Canada’s House of Commons has been forced to apologise after he sparked a standing ovation for a man who fought for the Nazis during World War II.

Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to the chamber on Friday, Canadian MPs gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka two separate standing ovations after Speaker Anthony Rota had drawn attention to him. 

Mr Rota said that Mr Hunka was a “Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero and we thank him for all his service.”

But in a statement on Sunday, Mr Rota said: “In my remarks following the address of the President of Ukraine, I recognised an individual in the gallery. I have subsequently become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision to do so.

“I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. I accept full responsibility for my actions.”

Mr Hunka, who fought for the Nazi First Ukrainian Division, could not be reached for comment.

Michael Mostyn of the Canadian branch of Jewish organisation B’nai Brith said it was outrageous that the parliament had honoured a former member of a Nazi unit, pointing out that Ukrainian “ultra-nationalist ideologues” who volunteered for the Galicia Division “dreamed of an ethnically homogenous Ukrainian state and endorsed the idea of ethnic cleansing.”