From the CBC:
“Air Canada CEO says he's
lived in Montreal 'without speaking French' for 14 years”
(Air Canada's new CEO, Michael
Rousseau, is being criticized for speaking only 20 seconds of French at a
speech in Montreal on Wednesday.)
When Air Canada CEO Michael
Rousseau was asked in French on Wednesday how he managed to live in Quebec's
largest city for 14 years without speaking the language, he paused and
requested the question be posed in English. In a 26-minute speech at the Palais des
congrès in Montreal moments before, Rousseau only spoke French for about 20
seconds. While his understanding of the language is "fair," he said,
he struggles to speak it. That prompted swift criticism from federal and
provincial politicians and several Quebec commentators.
Many pointed out that Air Canada
is subject to the Official Languages Act and must therefore serve customers in
English and French, depending on the customer's preference. Montreal's Chamber of Commerce had invited
Rousseau to speak about Air Canada's recovery after the pandemic. It was his
first major speech since he was appointed CEO of the company, which used to be
a Crown corporation, in February. He had held various roles in the company's
executive suite since 2007. After the
speech, Rousseau was asked in French by a journalist for Quebec TV news channel
LCN how he's managed to live in Montreal for so long despite speaking little
French. Rousseau paused and said: "Can you redo that in English? Because I
want to make sure I understand your question before I respond to it." The
journalist, Pierre-Olivier Zappa, said he'd rather Rousseau's press attaché
translate the question to him. The attaché replied that Rousseau had addressed
it in his speech. Eventually, Zappa
asked the question in English, saying, "How can you live in Montreal
without speaking French? Is it easy?" Rousseau paused again. "I've been able to live in Montreal
without speaking French, and I think that's a testament to the city of
Montreal," Rousseau said. He was
also asked why he had not learned French, responding: "If you look at my
work schedule, you'd understand why."
Politicians condemn Rousseau,
Air Canada Michel Leblanc, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, said
he was disappointed that Rousseau's speech contained very little French,
"and that the CEO of Air Canada did not publicly declare that his
intention was to learn French." Raymond Théberge, Canada's
Commissioner of Official Languages, said he hopes Rousseau will make a
commitment to do so. "Like
any CEO of a company subject to the Official Languages Act, [Rousseau] should
be able to communicate in the official languages," Théberge said in an
interview with Radio-Canada. Quebec
Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette — who is responsible for Bill 96, the
province's controversial and sweeping proposed overhaul of its French-language
law — was quick to share his condemnation on Twitter. "The big boss of Air
Canada expresses everything we rejected decades ago: contempt for our language
and our culture at home in Quebec," Jolin-Barrette wrote in French. "These words are unworthy of the role he
occupies."
The federal Minister of Official
Languages Ginette Petitpas Taylor also criticized Rousseau, stating on Twitter
that, "Air Canada offers an important service to Canadians. It must do so
in both official languages — and its leaders must be an example." Quebec
Liberal Party Leader Dominique Anglade also reacted, calling Rousseau's
comments "appalling and disrespectful" and stating that "Air
Canada frankly does not understand the impact of its decisions," to
appoint a CEO who does not speak adequate French. The Fédération des communautés francophones et
acadienne du Canada, an organization representing Canadian francophone and
Acadian communities, has asked Rousseau to apologize. "He must apologize for his insensitive
attitude and his lack of respect for francophones," said the federation's
president, Liane Roy. "If the Commissioner of Official Languages had the
power to issue orders and impose penalties … maybe it would be taken more
seriously," Roy added.
^ This is the perfect example of
how Bilingualism has failed in Canada. Canada has been officially Bilingual in
French and in English since 1969 (52 years) and yet the vast majority of
English-Speaking Canadians cannot speak French. Only 1 Province (New Brunswick)
is officially Bilingual.
56% of Canadians have English as their Mother
Tongue and 21.4% of Canadians have French as their Mother Tongue.
86.2% of Canadians have a working knowledge of
English while only 29% of Canadians have a working knowledge of French.
The Air Canada CEO’s arrogance in
thinking it was something to be proud of (to not only never have learned French
as well as never having used French despite living in Montreal for 14 years)
shows the continued arrogance of most English-Speaking Canadians across the
country. It is no wonder the French-Speaking Canadians continued to feel like 2nd
Class Citizens in their own country.
The Canadian Federal Government
owns about 6% of Air Canada and so you would think the airline and ALL of its
Employees would have to abide by Canadian Federal Government Language Laws and
provide services in BOTH French and in English.
What’s the point of having a Bilingual
Language Law and a Federal Minister of Official Languages if there are no
consequences when someone who is supposed to be able to know and use French and
English can’t use one of them? ^
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