A few sentences in broken French. That’s all Air Canada’s new CEO Michael Rousseau said before switching to English in his first public address. This linguistic insufficiency did not fail to arouse the ire of the entire political class.
The company, whose head office is in Montreal, is subject to Canadian official languages law. However, Michael Rousseau, who has lived in the metropolis for 14 years, is unilingual Anglophone.
“I have always been able to live in Montreal without speaking French and I think this is to the credit of the city of Montreal,” he explained to journalists after his speech. “If you see my work schedule, […] you would understand that is what I need to focus on. “
Officially, the man “of French origins” had come to speak to the business community brought together by the Montreal Chamber of Commerce to praise “the efficiency of its renewed fleet, the addition of new international services and the overhaul of its Aeroplan program ”.
Before joining the carrier in February 2021, Michael Rousseau was president of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The last Air Canada executive, Calin Rovinescu, spoke excellent French. The compensation of the CEO of Air Canada is around $ 10 million per year.
An outraged political world
By his words, the businessman drew the wrath of the entire Quebec and Canadian political class.
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Canada’s Minister of Official Languages, urged the leader to include learning French in his schedule. “Our two official languages are our wealth and our leaders must promote them. I invite you to make the effort to learn the wonderful language of French, ”she tweeted.
“Really sad to see so little consideration for francophones. The decline of French is very real. We must set an example and act, ”added the official languages spokesperson for the Conservative Party of Canada, Alain Rayes.
At the National Assembly, the speech in English by the Canadian leader made the member of the Parti Québécois in Matane-Matapedia, Pascal Bérubé, jump. “Air Canada, like other companies in Canada, has been laughing at Quebeckers for too long. Are there going to be consequences for what happened this afternoon? “
It was mainly addressed to Simon Jolin-Barrette, the minister responsible for the French language. Its bill 96 aims to strengthen the preeminence of French.
“The big boss of Air Canada expresses everything that we rejected decades ago: contempt for our language and our culture at home in Quebec. These remarks are unworthy of the functions he occupies, ”commented the minister on social networks.
In his long speech, Pascal Bérubé urged his colleague to work harder. “If we do not do more than what we do with Bill 96, I am not saying that we are an accomplice, I am saying that we have given up. “
The leader of the Quebec Community Groups Network – a network that brings together English communities – also lamented the unilingualism of Michael Rousseau. “The CEO of Air Canada shames both his company, the English-speaking minority community in Quebec, and all Quebecers,” tweeted Marlene Jennings.