House of Commons staff members are not tasked with screening guests for “reputational risks,” MPs on a committee looking into the Yaroslav Hunka affair were told Tuesday.
Hunka, a veteran of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division — a voluntary unit under the command of the Nazis during the Second World War — was given a standing ovation during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Parliament last fall.
Clerk of the House of Commons Eric Janse told the House procedures committee Tuesday that administrative staff would have conducted security screenings of all guests invited to hear Zelenskyy’s address — but would not be on the lookout for “reputational threats.”
“Guests to Parliament are not screened for reputational threats which, in any event, would be difficult to achieve in the very short time available for the organization of such ceremonies,” he said.
Guest lists for events like Zelenskyy’s address are submitted to House staff for security screening. Janse said House of Commons staff typically expect parties to have conducted reputational background checks before submitting their guest lists for security review.
For Zelenskyy’s visit, Speaker Anthony Rota was allocated a number of spots in the viewing gallery and his list of potential guests was shared with Parliament’s Protocol Office, which co-ordinates invitations.
“Those who selected their guests are responsible for their choices,” Chief of Protocol and Events Management Nancy Anctil told the committee in French.
Rota, who invited and recognized Hunka during Zelenskyy’s visit, subsequently resigned once the nature of the Ukrainian-Canadian’s wartime service came to light.
Janse told the committee that House of Commons staff were unaware that Rota intended to recognize Hunka during the event.
“Almost all guests are merely spectators and play no formal role in an address to Parliament,” he said.
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