Days after the controversy over recognition of Nazi veteran, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made fresh headlines on Wednesday over his unusual interaction with the newly elected speaker Greg Fergus in the Canadian parliament. A video of Trudeau congratulating Fergus has gone viral on social media, where he is seen winking at him and then immediately biting his tongue laughingly to acknowledge his “silly” behaviour.
As the speaker introduced Trudeau in the House as the “honourable Prime Minister”, Trudeau humorously corrected him, saying “very honourable” and winked. After the video went viral online, his gesture sparked criticism, with several users on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) questioning the need for displaying the “unprofessional” behaviour.
An X user linked the gesture to the closeness of the two Liberal leaders and said “…Something tells me he is going to be on the side of Trudeau and not neutral.”
Another user @mya11281477 said “Trudeau loves to throw his members under the bus.” One of the unnamed accounts even called Trudeau “a creep and a weirdo” for the incident.
Conservative Canadian online news magazine ‘The Post Millennial’ even labelled Trudeau’s gesture as “cringe”, displaying strong criticism. Many other users also echoed similar sentiments.
New speaker post Nazi row
The Liberal lawmaker was appointed as the new speaker of the House of Commons, the first ever Black person to do so, following Anthony Rota’s resignation from his post over the Nazi controversy.
A row had erupted last month, after the Canadian parliament invited a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka received two standing ovations from Canadian lawmakers in the House of Commons lower chamber during Zelensky’s visit to Canada. Rota initially apologised for recognising Hunka and later resigned as the issue boiled further.
Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division. This led to observers pointing out that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!” Click here!Get Latest World News along with Latest News from India at Hindustan Times.
