Wednesday 18th of December 2024
Home » Blogs » Gus Leonisky's blog

more than embarrassing — a bloody disgrace.........

When Canada's parliament praised a Ukrainian war veteran who fought with Nazi Germany, a renewed spotlight was put on a controversial part of Ukraine's history and its memorialisation in Canada.

Yaroslav Hunka, the Ukrainian veteran who was applauded in [THE CANADIAN] parliament [….], served with a Nazi unit called the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS - also known as the Galicia Division - that was formed in 1943.

His appearance was criticised by Jewish groups and other parliamentarians alike. MP Anthony Rota, who invited him, has since resigned as the Speaker of the House of Commons, saying he deeply regretted the mistake.

But this is not the first time that Ukraine's role in WWII has sparked a debate in Canada, which is home to the largest Ukrainian diaspora outside of Europe.

Several monuments dedicated to Ukrainian WWII veterans who served in the Galicia Division exist across the country. Jewish groups have long denounced these dedications, arguing soldiers in the Galicia Division swore allegiance to Adolf Hitler, and were either complicit in Nazi Germany's crimes or had committed crimes themselves.

But for some Ukrainians, these veterans are viewed as freedom fighters, who only fought alongside the Nazis to resist the Soviets in their quest for an independent Ukraine.

 

A contentious history

The Galicia Division was a part of the Waffen-SS, a Nazi military unit that on the whole was found to have been involved in numerous atrocities, including the massacring of Jewish civilians.

During the war, more than one million Jews in Ukraine were killed, mostly between 1941 and 1942. Most of them were shot to death near their homes by Nazi Germans and their collaborators.

The Galicia Division has been accused of committing war crimes, but its members have never been found guilty in a court of law.

Jewish groups have condemned Canadian monuments to Ukrainian veterans who fought in the Waffen-SS, saying they are "a glorification and celebration of those who actively participated in Holocaust crimes".

One such monument sits in a private Ukrainian cemetery in Oakville, Ontario, and features the insignia of the Galicia Division. Another was put up by Ukrainian WWII veterans in Edmonton, Alberta.

A third, also in Edmonton, depicts the bust of Roman Shukhevych, a Ukrainian nationalist leader and Nazi collaborator, whose units are accused of massacring Jews and Poles.

Shukhevych's involvement, however, is a matter of debate and he was not a member of the Galicia Division.

 

The monuments, which date back to the 1970s and 80s, have all been vandalised in recent years, with the word "Nazi" painted across them in red.

 

Why is there disagreement on what the monuments stand for?

It goes back to Ukraine's history in the war, as well as the make-up of Canada's large Ukrainian diaspora, said David Marples, a professor of eastern European history at the University of Alberta.

During WWII, millions of Ukrainians served in the Soviet Red Army, but thousands of others fought on the German side under the Galicia Division.

(GUSNOTE: AS NOTED MANY TIMES ON THIS SITE, UKRAINE POPULATION HAS BEEN ETHNICALLY DIVIDED. THE GALICIANS [NAZIS] ON ONE SIDE, THE RUSSIAN [35 PER CENT OF UKRAINE] ON THE OTHER — PLUS A VARIETY OF MINOR GROUPS SUCH AS POLES AND ROMANIANS)

Those [GALICIANS] who fought with Germany believed it would grant them an independent state free from Soviet rule, Prof Marples said.

At the time, Ukrainians resented the Soviets for their role in the Great Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33, also known as Holodomor, which killed an estimated five million Ukrainians.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66914756

 

(GUSNOTE: THIS EVENT IS DISPUTED BY SERIOUS RUSSIAN [and European] HISTORIANS… NOT BECAUSE IT DID NOT HAPPEN BUT BECAUSE THE BLAME WAS MISALLOCATED AND FAR LESS PEOPLE DIED)

 

MANY UKRAINIAN NAZIS ESCAPED TO CANADA, THE USA AND AUSTRALIA… So why were these Ukrainian NAZIS not prosecuted for war crimes? 

As explained on this site, the GAME of the American Empire since 1917 has been to destroy RUSSIA. Ukrainian Nazis have thus been used overtly and covertly to achieve this goal. The genocidal Ukrainian murderers have thus been a PROTECTED SPECIES…

 

Until 2021, the Western media was quite explicit about the Ukraine’s government being rampant with NAZIS, but since the Russian MILITARY OPERATION designed to get rid of these pests, THE WESTERN MEDIA HAS CALLED THEM “FREEDOM FIGHTERS”…

 

Even serious academics who expose this, get burned to the stakes…

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

PLEASE DO NOT BLAME RUSSIA IF WW3 STARTS. BLAME YOURSELF.

 

SEE ALSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgR9l1c1pmQ

gone...

Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has resigned from her post, citing disagreements with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on how to respond to incoming President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs.

She announced her resignation in a letter to Trudeau on Monday, in which she said the two have been "at odds about the best path forward for Canada", and pointed to the "grave challenge" posed by Trump's policy of "aggressive economic nationalism".

Freeland said the decision comes after Trudeau informed her last week that he no longer wanted her to be his government's top economic adviser.

Her resignation came hours before she was due to provide an annual fiscal government update in parliament.

The move may push Trudeau's already shaky minority government to the brink .

After nine years in power, the prime minister has faced growing calls to resign over concerns he is a drag on his party's fortunes. The Liberal leader's approval rate has plummeted from 63% when he was first elected to 28% in June of this year, according to one poll tracker.

Following Freeland's departure on Monday, five siting Liberal MP publicly called on Trudeau to step down. 

"Let's put it this way - firing the minister of finance who has served you extremely well is not what I'd call a trustworthy move," Helena Jaczek, an MP from Markham-Stouffville in Ontario, told reporters, before saying that Trudeau should resign. 

An emergency Liberal caucus meeting was set for 1700 local time (22:00 GMT). 

Within hours of Freeland's announcement, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc was sworn in as her replacement. LeBlanc, who has been close friends with the prime minister since childhood, is considered one of his most loyal allies. 

Trudeau was present at the swearing-in - his first appearance in front of media since Freeland's announcement - but he did not provide any statements. His office and the finance department both did not respond to the BBC's request for comment. 

In her publicly-shared resignation letter, Freeland said Canada needs to keep its "fiscal powder dry" to deal with the threat of sweeping tariffs from US President-elect Donald Trump.

She added this means "eschewing costly political gimmicks" that Canada cannot afford.

Trump has promised to impose a levy of 25% on imported Canadian goods, which economists have warned would significantly hurt Canada's economy.

Referencing the tariffs, Freeland called them a "threat" that needs to be taken "extremely seriously".

She added that this means "pushing back against 'America First' economic nationalism" and working with unity in response to these tariff threats.

When the fall economic statement was released on Monday afternoon, it revealed a C$60b deficit ($42bn; £33bn) - far exceeding Freeland's C$40bn target. 

She and Trudeau were reportedly also in disagreement over a series of recently-proposed policies by the prime minister designed to address the country's cost-of-living crisis.

Among them is a cheque of C$250 that the government wanted to send to every Canadian earning less than C$150,000 annually. These cheques were expected to cost the federal government a total of C$4.68bn.

Another is a temporary tax break on essential items during the holidays which is anticipated to cost C$1.6bn in lost tax revenue. 

Freeland's office had reportedly been concerned about the price of these two policies, saying they are economically unwise at a time when the country's deficit is growing. 

The tax holiday has since been approved in the House of Commons, but the C$250-cheques hit a hurdle when the New Democratic Party (NDP) - a centre-left party in parliament - signalled it would not lend its support to the policy unless it is expanded.

A poll by the Angus Reid Institute showed that four out of five Canadians viewed the cheques as a political move designed to win public goodwill as Trudeau's popularity plummets.

In response to Freeland's exit, Pierre Poilievre, leader of the opposition Conservative Party of Canada, called for a federal election as soon as possible. 

"Everything is spiralling out of control. We simply cannot go on like this," he said, adding that her resignation comes "at the very worst time".

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh called on Trudeau to resign. But Singh, whose party has propped up Trudeau's minority government thus far, stopped short of committing to a vote of non-confidence, which would effectively force a federal election. 

Freeland, who also holds the position of deputy prime minister, has long been one of Trudeau's closest allies within his Liberal party. She has held the key role of Canada's finance minister since 2020, helping to lead the country through the pandemic and its aftermath.

Other members of the Liberal party's cabinet have since reacted to her resignation.

Minister of Transport Anita Anand described Freeland as a "good friend," and added: "This news has hit me really hard and I'll reserve further comment until I have time to process it."

In a statement, the Business Council of Canada called Freeland's resignation "deeply troubling" and said the concerns that she raises put into question "whose interests the federal government is looking out for". 

Canada's public broadcaster CBC reported that Freeland's decision to quit was not expected today, citing a senior federal government source.

Freeland said she intends to stay on as a Liberal member of parliament, and that she will run again in Canada's upcoming election, which must be held on or before October.

Her resignation comes after another cabinet member, housing minister Sean Fraser, announced he will not be seeking re-election, saying he wants to spend more time with his family.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2elggj813o

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

PLEASE DO NOT BLAME RUSSIA IF WW3 STARTS. BLAME YOURSELF.

nazi granddad.....

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s finance minister and deputy prime minister, resigned from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet on Monday, citing policy disagreements and growing concerns over his economic direction. Her resignation comes in the wake of new controversy surrounding her family’s past, particularly her grandfather’s ties to Nazi collaboration in Ukraine.

Freeland, who has served in top roles within Trudeau’s Liberal government since 2013, delivered a critical resignation letter accusing the prime minister of prioritizing “costly political gimmicks” over prudent fiscal management amid looming US tariff threats. She specifically opposed Trudeau’s proposed sales tax holiday and $175 direct payments to Canadians, calling them unaffordable.

“We need to take [U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s] tariff threats seriously,” Freeland wrote. “That means keeping our fiscal powder dry… and avoiding wasteful spending that undermines Canadians’ trust in our leadership.”

Trudeau quickly appointed longtime ally Dominic LeBlanc, then public safety minister, as Freeland’s replacement. He was sworn in the same day and vowed to tackle inflation and ease strained U.S.-Canada relations.

However, Freeland’s departure has reignited scrutiny of her family’s wartime past. Her maternal grandfather, Michael Chomiak, edited a Nazi-controlled Ukrainian newspaper that disseminated anti-Semitic propaganda during World War II. Despite public records confirming his role, Freeland long dismissed the reports as Russian disinformation.

The controversy first surfaced in 2017, when historical investigations revealed Chomiak’s Nazi collaboration. Freeland insisted her grandfather fled Soviet persecution, but multiple sources, including Canadian and international media, exposed his complicity in Holocaust-era propaganda.

A new book by award-winning author Peter McFarlane is said to “blow the lid off the attempts to whitewash Chomiak’s Nazi past.” Called “Family Ties: How a Ukrainian Nazi and a living witness link Canada to Ukraine today,” it was published this fall. 

Freeland has never directly addressed the full extent of her grandfather’s wartime activities, maintaining that her family’s story reflects “the complex history of Europe in the 20th century.” Critics argue that her denials have damaged her credibility.

Her resignation comes as Trudeau’s popularity wanes amid economic troubles and internal party unrest. With inflation rising and his government’s policies under fire, opposition leaders and some Liberal MPs have urged him not to seek a fourth term.

Freeland stated she intends to continue serving as a Liberal MP and run for re-election in Toronto.

https://www.rt.com/news/609461-canada-finance-minister-resigns/

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

PLEASE DO NOT BLAME RUSSIA IF WW3 STARTS. BLAME YOURSELF.