The Canadian had spoken only two words of French: “Bonjour” at the start, “thanks” in conclusion. In the remaining three and a half minutes of the video that Air Canada published last week, the airline’s CEO, Michael Rousseau, spoke English. He shared his condolences with the relatives of two Air Canada pilots. They were killed in a collision this month between a passenger plane and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
After the video was posted online, bilingual Canada was criticized for days about Michael Rousseau’s lack of French language skills. The 68-year-old CEO announced on Monday that he would leave at the end of this year. After “strong and committed leadership,” he retires reported the company, which itself does not mention the language issue. Rousseau worked for Air Canada for about twenty years.
Rousseau is not the only Canadian who speaks moderate French. A fifth of Canadians are French-speaking, writes The New York Times. The number of inhabitants who speak both languages decreases according to figures cited by the BBC. The plane that crashed had taken off from Montreal – the largest city in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec. The pilot and co-pilot spoke French to each other. Official government communications in Canada are bilingual. Air Canada, once a state-owned company, still has to adhere to certain language rules. The company, which operates from Quebec, requires its own staff to be able to express themselves in both English and French.
Promise to learn French
When Rousseau took over as CEO of Air Canada in 2021, he had already lived in Montreal for years. A local journalist asked him at the time, in French, how he had managed that with such a limited French vocabulary, the broadcaster writes CBC. Rousseau asked if the reporter could repeat the question in English. Finally he replied: “I was able to live in Montreal without speaking French, I think that says a lot about Montreal.” Why he didn’t want to learn French? “If you look at my work schedule, you will understand why,” Rousseau said. This caused him so much criticism that he apologized and promised to take French lessons.
Last week it became clear that those lessons have borne little fruit. According to Air Canada, the subject of the video in question, the expression of support for the plane crash, was so emotional that the big boss chose English.
If he still doesn’t speak French, it shows a lack of respect
In doing so, Rousseau showed both a lack of judgment and compassion, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney fulminated against the broadcaster. CBC. “We are proud to live in a bilingual country and companies like Air Canada have a particular responsibility to always communicate in both official languages, regardless of the situation.” Quebec Premier François Legault went one step further and called for the resignation of Air Canada’s CEO. “If he still doesn’t speak French, it shows a lack of respect.”
Rousseau was also asked to answer to a parliamentary committee on the language issue on May 1. According to the group of parliamentarians, his two French words are “incompatible with the obligations laid down in the Official Languages Act and the expectations of the Canadian public.”
Now that Rousseau has announced his resignation, it is uncertain whether he will still have to appear before parliament. He himself came up with one last Thursday apology statement. “I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has distracted from the deep sorrow of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada employees.”
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