Northern MP Rota resigns as Speaker of the House

Anthony Rota, MP for Nipissing-Timiskaming, has resigned as Speaker of the House.

He made the announcement in the House of Commons this afternoon.

“I must step down as your Speaker. I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognizing an individual in the House,” Rota said.

“That public recognition has 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. I accept full responsibility for my actions.”

It is not clear if Rota will also be resigning his seat as MP. In July, Rota was a guest on Village Media's Inside the Village podcast, where he talked about his role as Speaker — whether he plans to run in the next election.

See: Will Rota resign?

Rota issued an apology in the House of Commons chamber for recognizing a Ukrainian, who is a North Bay resident and who fought for a Nazi unit in the Second World War. Rota invited the individual to Parliament Hill during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Ottawa on September 22.

See Rota apologize to the House of Commons here.

See the debate here.

Rota said he was resigning “with a heavy heart.”

Rota invited North Bay resident Yaroslav Hunka to Friday’s special parliamentary session in the House of Commons, where he recognized the 98-year-old as a “Ukrainian hero.”

Hunka served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi’s SS military unit.

Opposition MPs are also calling for Prime Minister Trudeau to apologize.