<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Canada’s House of Commons on Tuesday elected Greg Fergus as its new speaker, making the Liberal lawmaker the first Black Canadian to hold the position.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The election was triggered by the resignation of Anthony Rota, who stepped down last week after he invited — and honored — a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke before the Canadian parliament last month, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Observers later began to publicize the fact 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. Rota later apologized saying he had not been aware of that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fergus, 54, is a Quebec Liberal lawmaker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Read: Despite dispute, Canada remains committed to its relationship with India: Trudeau</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After lawmakers elected him to the role through a secret ballot, he promised to lead with respect, and encouraged his fellow lawmakers to respect each other. Canadians are watching, he noted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The speaker, to use the old hockey analogy, is nothing more than a referee,” Fergus said in his first speech from the chair. “And if there’s one thing I know, it’s that nobody pays good money to go see the referee. They go to see the stars: you.” AP/UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>