Michael Rousseau, CEO of Air Canada | Still far from fluency in French

More than two years after pledging to learn French after sparking a linguistic storm, Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau is still not considered a capable administrator by his employer to express oneself with ease in the language of Molière.

This is the observation that can be made by analyzing the most recent solicitation circular sent to the shareholders of the largest air carrier in the country, which is subject to the Official Languages ​​Actin view of its annual meeting scheduled for March 28.

“Mr. Rousseau continued to respect his personal commitment to learning French,” explains Air Canada – a passage that was found verbatim in the document sent last year.

The big boss of the Montreal-based company also sits on the board of directors, which has 13 members. According to the circular, 15% of directors, or two people, speak “fluent French”, which means that they are able to express themselves with ease in French. This is the case of businesswoman Madeleine Paquin and lawyer Jean-Marc Huot. Mr. Rousseau is therefore excluded from the account.

Overall, Air Canada’s 13 board members are fluent in English and 54% have “various levels of proficiency” in French.

The company did not respond to questions from The Press aimed at finding out more about these “skill levels”. She claims to have no “additional details to share” on the “individual distribution” of the language skills of her administrators.

Mr. Rousseau sparked a heated controversy in the fall of 2021 on the sidelines of a speech delivered almost exclusively in English before the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM). On the sidelines of the event, the manager admitted to having lived peacefully in Quebec, where he has been based since 2007, without mastering the official language of the province.

This outcry had prompted the manager to commit to learning French. Air Canada had also promised that the language of Molière would be part of the criteria for evaluating the performance of its big boss. Since then, it has not been possible to document Mr. Rousseau’s progress in French.

Advances

In its circular, the airline highlights its efforts to “promote Canada’s two official languages” to its shareholders. Six of the seven members of its “executive committee” are bilingual, it is noted. Last year, Air Canada also registered “voluntarily” with the Office québécois de la langue française under the Charter of the French Language.

Despite everything, Air Canada does not want to disclose the languages ​​mastered by each member of its senior management. The air carrier invites its shareholders to reject the proposal of the Shareholder Education and Defense Movement (MEDAC) to this effect.

Among Quebec Inc. companies, heavyweights like the Canadian National Railway Company (CN), AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin) as well as the National Bank already disclose the languages ​​spoken by each of their directors.

Last year, MEDAC said it submitted this request to around twenty listed companies, adding that the response had been positive in “almost all” of these companies, including the seven major Canadian banks. The language issue is part of diversity issues, argues the organization in its proposal sent to Air Canada.

In force, this MEDAC proposal would notably require the air carrier to clearly indicate whether Mr. Rousseau’s command of French is sufficient “to allow widespread use” in the exercise of his duties.

Premiums on the rise

The five most senior executives at Air Canada were also entitled to bonuses totaling 5.2 million – an annual increase of 18% – in 2023 as Air Canada returned to profitability. The company reaped profits of 2.3 billion, which did not prevent its stock from posting a negative return of 2.3% on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Mr. Rousseau alone received 2.6 million.

Overall, the total compensation – which takes into account base salary, bonuses, stock options and other benefits – of Air Canada’s senior management was $25 million last year, in increase of 14% compared to 2022.

The president was entitled to a salary of 12 million, which takes into account a base salary of 1.3 million and 7.8 million in stock-based awards as well as options.