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Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: BayGBM on March 30, 2026, 12:06:09 PM

Title: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: BayGBM on March 30, 2026, 12:06:09 PM: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
The lack of French in Michael Rousseau’s speech about the deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport reignited a debate over linguistic inclusivity in Canada.
By John Yoon

After an Air Canada jet collided with a truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport, the airline’s chief executive, Michael Rousseau, recorded a speech to address the disaster and comfort victims and their families.

Few took issue with his sentiment, but some in Canada objected to how he conveyed it: in English.

Critics noted that in the video posted to social media, Mr. Rousseau spoke almost no French, an official language in Canada and the one spoken by the family of one of the two pilots who died. He opened with “Hello, bonjour,” and closed with “Thank you, merci,” but otherwise spoke English, with subtitles displayed in both languages.

His speech reignited a debate over linguistic inclusivity, a contentious issue in Canada. Particular scrutiny falls on Air Canada, which still bears special obligations from its origins as a state-owned carrier before it was privatized. Mr. Rousseau has faced criticism throughout his tenure for speaking little French.

A spokesman for the airline defended Mr. Rousseau, saying that he lacked the language skills to address a sensitive topic in French and had wanted to send a personal message soon after the collision on Sunday night.

Still, criticism of his remarks, expressed on social media and in complaints to Canada’s bilingualism commission, prompted a parliamentary committee overseeing language laws to ask Mr. Rousseau to explain himself. The committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to invite Mr. Rousseau to appear before it by May 1.

“When I saw the video and that it was only in English, I couldn’t believe it,” Mario Beaulieu, a Quebec nationalist lawmaker on the committee, said during the meeting on Tuesday. “It made no sense. It’s practically provocation.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada expressed his disappointment with Mr. Rousseau.

“We proudly live in a bilingual country,” Mr. Carney told reporters on Wednesday, “and companies like Air Canada, particularly, have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages regardless of the situation. I’m very disappointed.”

Canadian law requires government services to be in both English and French, but support for bilingualism is not uniform. About 22 percent of Canada’s population speaks French, according to government data.

Bilingualism is a particularly sensitive topic in Quebec, the province where French is the sole official language and is spoken by more than 84 percent of people. Anxiety about the rising influence of English there fueled efforts to preserve its French cultural identity and spawned a separatist political party in the 1970s.

The Air Canada jet took off from Montreal Trudeau International Airport in Quebec before it crashed into the fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York. One of the plane’s pilots, Antoine Forest, was from Quebec.

In an emailed statement, Christophe Hennebelle, a spokesman for Air Canada, said that Mr. Rousseau’s “primary aim was to speak in person” in the wake of the crash.

“He therefore recorded a message as a matter of priority before departing on a flight for the crash site,” the statement said.

“Despite his efforts, his ability to express himself in French does not allow him to convey such a sensitive message in that language as he would wish. We have therefore used subtitles to ensure that everyone can receive his message directly.”

Mr. Hennebelle wrote that the information in the video had already been shared in other ways in both languages. He added that communicating in both English and French “is a priority for Air Canada every day, and we remain committed to this.”

Some people on social media defended Mr. Rousseau, saying that the aftermath of a fatal disaster was not the time to bring up language disputes.

Mr. Rousseau, who has led Air Canada since 2021, has been criticized before for not speaking or understanding French fluently. Canada’s deputy prime minister at the time of his hiring as chief executive wrote to the airline’s chairman, saying that knowledge of French should be part of Mr. Rousseau’s annual performance review. The airline said it would comply.

Air Canada, unlike other Canadian carriers, is subject to bilingualism laws because it was established as a state-owned enterprise before it was privatized in the 1980s. The legislation requires it to serve customers in both languages. The airline is headquartered in Montreal, which is primarily French-speaking.

The same committee criticizing Mr. Rousseau over the crash video also invited him to appear in 2022 over another set of comments in English. When he did, he apologized for his limited French and said that he was taking language lessons.

“I admit I made a mistake by not learning to speak French when I joined Air Canada,” Mr. Rousseau told the committee that year. “I’m obviously correcting that mistake at this point in time. And I look forward to being able to communicate much better in French with an appropriate accent over the next little while.”

In 2023, the committee rejected a proposal to add French proficiency as a job requirement for the chief executives of companies like Air Canada that are subjected to Canada’s Official Languages Act.

Members of the committee on Tuesday said that Mr. Rousseau failed to show empathy to French speakers.

“We’ve already had him as a witness here in this committee, and he committed to learning French — and I’m not judging him and it’s hard to learn a second language,” said Joël Godin, a lawmaker in Canada’s Conservative Party.

“But he could have read from a teleprompter. He could have shown his sensitivity to this issue and his will and intention to respect the French language and Francophones.”
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: BayGBM on March 30, 2026, 12:08:21 PM: Air Canada CEO Exit Comes After Language Backlash Following Fatal Jet Crash
Quebec lawmakers demanded that Michael Rousseau step down after he spoke about the LaGuardia runway accident in English, not French
By Paul Vieira

Michael Rousseau never learned French and it appears to have cost him his job.

The chief executive officer of Air Canada is leaving the airline amid intense backlash over his handling of a crash at LaGuardia Airport that killed the two pilots of an Air Canada Express flight and injured dozens of passengers. The 68-year-old was under pressure from politicians and many others in French-speaking Quebec, where the airline is based, after he responded to the March 22 runway collision with a video in English and didn’t share his condolences in French.

Airlines CEOs are expected to be adept leaders in a crisis, including deft communication, and Rousseau’s hastily announced retirement shows how Canada’s complicated language politics continue to loom over the country’s business world.

Air Canada said Monday that Rousseau had informed the airline’s board of directors of his plan to retire at the end of the third quarter. Rousseau will continue to serve as CEO and a member of the board until that time, the company said.

Shares in Air Canada were down 1.2% around midday Monday.

Air Canada also said it launched an external search for potential CEO candidates in January. “The board will consider a number of performance criteria in assessing candidates including the ability to communicate in French,” the company said.

An airline spokesman added that Rousseau’s retirement isn’t linked to the language flap. The CEO “has reached a natural retirement age,” the spokesman added.

But Rousseau’s video message, delivered in English with French subtitles, drew the scorn of Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said Rousseau lacked compassion and judgment—and that both the CEO and the board of directors should be held accountable. Lawmakers in Quebec voted unanimously last week on a motion demanding that Rousseau step down, saying his response was an affront to the French-speaking province.

One of the pilots killed in the LaGuardia tragedy was a native of Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec.

At an event in Toronto on Monday, Carney said Rousseau’s departure was appropriate, and that it was essential Air Canada’s next CEO is bilingual.

“He was an effective operator of the airline…and I salute him for that,” Carney said. “But being a leader has many responsibilities,” including communicating in both English and French, he added.

Canada has two official languages, English and French, and Quebec politicians have for decades implemented and enforced rules to ensure that French is the predominant language in its public and private sectors as a way to help preserve its culture. Air Canada is also required under Canadian law to deliver services in both French and English—the only Canadian carrier required to do so.

The Carney-led Liberal government faces a special election in Quebec next month that could prove pivotal in Carney’s bid to secure a majority of the seats in the national legislature. Carney now runs a minority government, which requires opposition support to pass legislation and stay in power.

A victory in Quebec, coupled with wins in two special elections for vacant seats in Toronto, would push the Liberals into majority territory, thereby giving Carney a freer hand in governing without the risk of an early election.

Rousseau apologized for his English-only comments after Carney’s criticism, saying that he was unable to express himself adequately in French despite lessons over the years.

“I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees,” he said.

“In Québec, imperfect French spoken earnestly is often forgiven. Indifference is not,” said Eric Blais, the head of Toronto-based Headspace Marketing, who advises companies based in English Canada about operating in Quebec. “A lot of people say English is the language of business. But this guy is based in Montreal, and the company he works for has a legal obligation to be bilingual in customer-facing sort of interactions.”

Rousseau, who attended Toronto’s York University and Villanova University in Philadelphia, took over as Air Canada CEO in 2021 after joining the airline in 2007. Shortly after his CEO appointment, he delivered a speech to a Montreal business audience, mostly in English. He told reporters after that address that he was able to live in Montreal without speaking French, and added that his work schedule didn’t allow for time for lessons.

His response drew widespread criticism at the time, and Rousseau pledged to begin intensive French lessons. In 2025 securities filings, Air Canada said six of the seven members of its executive committee are bilingual, and Rousseau “has continued to act on his personal pledge to learn French.”

Earlier Monday, Air Canada issued its 2026 management proxy circular, which included a letter to shareholders, signed by Rousseau and airline chairman Vagn Sorensen, spelling out achievements in the past year and goals for 2026. The letter includes a postscript from Sorensen, in which he discloses Rousseau’s retirement. The circular said Rousseau earned total compensation in 2025 of nearly $10 million.
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: B_B_C on March 30, 2026, 12:32:18 PM: jeeze
those Loonies are crazy - imagine resigning because of some fuck up
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: Dave D on March 30, 2026, 05:25:53 PM: He resigns not because of the accident and loss of life BUT because people were offended about the language he spoke.

Yikes.
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: That_Dude on March 31, 2026, 10:27:50 AM: Quote from: Dave D on March 30, 2026, 05:25:53 PM
He resigns not because of the accident and loss of life BUT because people were offended about the language he spoke.

Yikes.

The FAA and flight controllers were responsible for the accident and loss of life not the Air Canada CEO....
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: Grape Ape on March 31, 2026, 10:57:12 AM: Quote from: Dave D on March 30, 2026, 05:25:53 PM
He resigns not because of the accident and loss of life BUT because people were offended about the language he spoke.

Yikes.

Canadians have always been judged on their ability to apologize.
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: Dave D on March 31, 2026, 11:58:35 AM: Quote from: That_Dude on March 31, 2026, 10:27:50 AM
The FAA and flight controllers were responsible for the accident and loss of life not the Air Canada CEO....

Okay. I think my point is still valid.

She’s resigning because people are upset about the language he used and not because lives were lost (regardless of who was responsible). Odd what society has become.
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: ProudVirgin69 on March 31, 2026, 04:49:54 PM: Quote from: Dave D on March 31, 2026, 11:58:35 AM
Okay. I think my point is still valid.

She’s resigning because people are upset about the language he used and not because lives were lost (regardless of who was responsible). Odd what society has become.

If hes unable to represent the company in a favorable manner, he’s not really well suited to lead it, is he? Not that hard to understand, to me at least.
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: Dave D on March 31, 2026, 06:26:24 PM: Quote from: ProudVirgin69 on March 31, 2026, 04:49:54 PM

If hes unable to represent the company in a favorable manner, he’s not really well suited to lead it, is he? Not that hard to understand, to me at least.

The guy stepped down, which was obviously the right choice because he couldn’t handle this issue, we agree on this.

I don’t understand why people are more offended by language than they are about lives lost.
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: B_B_C on April 01, 2026, 03:47:05 AM: Quote from: Dave D on March 31, 2026, 06:26:24 PM
The guy stepped down, which was obviously the right choice because he couldn’t handle this issue, we agree on this.

I don’t understand why people are more offended by language than they are about lives lost.
אני לא מבין מדוע אנשים נעלבים יותר מהשימוש

בשפה מאשר מאובדן חיי אדם
.
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: Kwon on April 01, 2026, 03:54:59 PM: Quote from: Dave D on March 30, 2026, 05:25:53 PM
He resigns not because of the accident and loss of life BUT because people were offended about the language he spoke.

Yikes.

SO he didnt know french, BIG FRICKIN DEAL!

People (libs and wokes) are fuggin crazy today

Mad world
Title: Re: Air Canada C.E.O. Draws Scorn for Delivering Condolences Only in English
Post by: Kwon on April 01, 2026, 03:55:49 PM: Quote from: ProudVirgin69 on March 31, 2026, 04:49:54 PM

If hes unable to represent the company in a favorable manner, he’s not really well suited to lead it, is he? Not that hard to understand, to me at least.

All frenchies (and Canadians) should be forced to use English (The Language of Kings) anyway