'It has been hell': Liberal MP Rota on months since Speaker resignation

Liberal MP Anthony Rota says "it has been hell" in the months since he resigned as Speaker of the House of Commons over his recognition of a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.

Looking to move on from the embarrassing and upsetting ordeal, Rota said while it has been hard, he's still not interested in sharing more about how the highly controversial invitation came about. 

"It has been hell. I can't say that it's been easy, but it is the reality. A mistake was made and responsibility had to be taken, and I'm not one to pass on responsibilities to staff or blame anyone. It came out of my office, I took responsibility for it," Rota said in an interview with CTV News Northern Ontario in his riding on Tuesday.

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The incident that led to this historic scene unfolding in the House of Commons took place during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's September address to Parliament.

Following Zelenskyy's remarks, Rota drew the room's attention to a constituent of his in the viewing gallery whom he recognized as "a Canadian hero," initiating a standing ovation from those in the chamber.

It came to light in the days following that 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka was a Ukrainian veteran who fought in a volunteer unit under Nazi command.

After a series of apologies and condemnations from colleagues of all political stripes, Rota apologized and resigned the prestigious speakership, but decided to remain a federal member of Parliament until the next election.

At the time, Rota took full responsibility for the mistake and for not being aware until after the controversy exploded of his constituent's historic involvement with the Waffen-SS Galicia Division.

Amid questions around what process was followed by the government in regards to clearing who could attend Zelenskyy's address, Rota has said neither the Prime Minister's Office nor the Ukrainian delegation were aware of his plans to recognize Hunka. Asked Tuesday whether he personally approved Hunka's attendance, Rota pointed to the protocols in place.

"The invitation came in, someone came in and requested that they be there, then that goes to protocol, protocol takes it and what they will do is then they issue the invitation," Rota said.

"Prior to that, normally it goes to the Prime Minister's Office and they go through it with a fine-tooth comb … So who invited him? That's up for grabs … Doesn't matter, it's happened, it's over and an error was made."

Rota, who has kept a low profile since the incident, said that he has not spoken to Hunka but has spoken to his son.

"It's been very hard on him as well," Rota said. "He's a Canadian citizen and we have to respect that."

While the House symbolically withdrew the tribute, the international incident sparked a conversation about unsealing portions of the report from the Deschênes Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals.

Asked his perspective on this issue, Rota said the balance of the documents on suspected war criminals living in Canada should be unsealed "so that people know where they stand."

"It'll make it easier for people who are introducing them as well, so that they know who is on that list," Rota said.

The role of House of Commons Speaker was filled by fellow Liberal MP Greg Fergus, who is now looking at implementing new guidelines for recognizing guests in the House.

While the federal government has not committed to unsealing the records, Government House Leader Steve MacKinnon previously indicated in an interview on CTV's Question Period during his time as whip that the Liberals would look at what changes the Speaker's office may propose around the vetting process to ensure a similar incident isn't repeated.

With files from CTV News Northern Ontario, and CTV News' Vassy Kapelos and Spencer Van Dyk