One can’t help but wonder if beleaguered Air Canada CEO, Michael Rousseau and his team had debated long and hard before they finally made a most ill-advised decision to deliver an English-only message of condolence with French subtitles to grieving Quebec families.
This, after an Air Canada Jazz flight from Montreal crashed into a fire truck on the tarmac just after landing at LaGuardia International Airport last week. The two pilots, Captain Antoine Forest and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther, were killed, and several crew members and passengers were injured. One of the pilots was a French-speaker from Quebec.
It is well known that, despite his French surname, Rousseau does not speak French. He is, of course, well aware that this fact has caused controversy in Quebec, where the official language is French.
There was an outpouring of discontent in 2021 after Rousseau delivered a speech to the Montreal Chamber of Commerce entirely in English. There were several complaints to the Commissioner of Official Languages, followed by apologies, letters to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and a commitment by Rousseau to learn French.
This was five years ago.
It’s no wonder Quebecers are angry and feel disrespected. At this time of bereavement, it must feel like Rousseau added insult to injury. One would think that after five years, he would be able to at least read a prepared French statement.
Air Canada, with headquarters in Quebec, has a bilingual policy. The following statement is on its website: “We are the only airline in Canada with official languages obligations under the Official Languages Act (OLA), and we have honoured those obligations with steadfast commitment for more than 50 years.”
Having a CEO who does not speak French clearly goes against their own policy.
A statement by Air Canada said, “Despite his efforts, his ability to speak French does not allow him to convey such a sensitive message as effectively as he would have liked in that language." Rousseau also issued a written apology that said, “Unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French.”
Frankly, he did not express himself that well in English either. He was obviously reading the statement. He showed little emotion, and there were a few odd mispronunciations.
Rousseau had to have known this backlash was coming, based on what happened five years ago. One wonders how this did not factor into his decision. Why didn’t he read even a few sentences in French? He could have had the words written phonetically to help him with the pronunciation.
Perhaps Rousseau felt he was between a rock and a hard place. He may have thought that if he read a French statement and did it poorly, he would have been met with derision. Perhaps Quebecers would have been annoyed by his accent and mispronunciations. But at least they would have concluded that he was at least trying and had learned from his past mistakes. Instead, Rousseau’s actions show arrogance and a lack of respect for Quebecers, their culture and their official language.
Rousseau took what he may have thought was the safer, less embarrassing option: read the statement almost entirely in English, with French subtitles. Why he chose to start with Bonjour and end with Merci is anyone’s guess.
Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed disappointment and said Rousseau showed a lack of empathy. The Québec National Assembly and the Bloc Québécois demanded his resignation. Rousseau was summoned to Ottawa to explain his actions before the Commission on Official Languages.
On Monday, one week after that regrettable English-only condolence message, Rousseau announced he will retire later this year, bringing his two-decade career with Air Canada to a close.
All of this could have been avoided if he had put his customers first and deigned to read a few sentences in French. Clearly, he paid the price - this time.
