René Lévesque had once called “Rhodesians of Westmount” these rich English speakers who looked down on the tribe conquered two hundred years earlier who camped at their feet.
Obviously, there are still more. We even find them in Saint-Lambert, where Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau, born in Montreal to a French-speaking mother, returned to Quebec for 14 years, lives with a French-speaking spouse and is pleased to have no never felt the need to learn French.
As it should be, the Quebec political class unanimously unleashed itself, echoing the indignation of Francophones from coast to coast. This is obviously not the first time that an incident of this kind has occurred and it will not be the last. In recent years, even authentically Quebec businesses such as the Caisse de dépôt, Banque Laurentienne or Couche-Tard have not seen fit to require their managers to have an adequate knowledge of French. This is sometimes seen as an advantage, sometimes as a whim, but not as an obligation.
As offensive as it may be, Mr. Rousseau’s I-don’t-care about it nonetheless reflects a distressing reality: nearly half a century after the adoption of Bill 101, it remains entirely possible to live and prosper in Quebec without speaking a word of French. When this extremely wealthy customer does his shopping in the charming boutiques of Saint-Lambert, we obviously make a point of answering him in English.
The famous “message” to be sent to immigrants is crystal clear. If even the big boss of the first air carrier in the country, whose head office is located in Montreal, did not need to learn French, what can that be used for? Or rather, who cares? Obviously, we cannot count on Ottawa to make a difference. Air Canada has been the number one subscriber to the complaints service of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for decades and it has had no effect. The company does not care about the Official Languages Act, why would it comply with the new version announced? There is a “systemic problem”, admitted Commissioner Raymond Théberge.
Usually so eager to lament, it took Justin Trudeau three days to decide that Mr. Rousseau’s attitude was unacceptable. It is true that he himself saw no problem in appointing a Governor General who does not speak French.
We cannot say that the new minister responsible for the Official Languages Act, Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, reacted with great ferocity, simply inviting Mr. Rousseau to “make the effort to learn the magnificent language that is French “. As if it was simply to perfect his culture.
This will not be enough for Ottawa to agree to subject federally chartered companies that operate in Quebec to Bill 101. Even Immigration Canada is now recruiting unilingual English agents for its Montreal offices.
In reality, we should perhaps thank Mr. Rousseau for having made another demonstration of how little French is valued in this country, apart from official speeches. Are we especially angry with him for putting under our noses an unacceptable situation on which we prefer to close our eyes rather than draw the conclusion that should be drawn?
The Minister responsible for Language, Simon Jolin-Barrette, has some food for thought before putting Bill 96 back on the agenda of the National Assembly. The “reasonable” compromise that Prime Minister Legault has boasted of clearly does not respond to the gravity of the situation.
The current provisions of the project are not sufficiently restrictive to convince newcomers of the need to learn French, especially since the City of Montreal, regardless of who will lead it in the coming years, intends to continue offering its services in English to anyone who requests them, despite the duty to set an example that the bill seeks to impose on them.
There are circumstances that you have to know how to take advantage of. The Rousseau affair will undoubtedly not have the impact of the battle of the Gens de l’air of 1975, which gave the PQ a momentum that led it to power and paved the way for the referendum. The Air Canada blunder nevertheless offers the Legault government the opportunity to give a real boost before it is too late. Unless he’s afraid to wake up the sleeping lion.
Quebeckers also have to examine their conscience. Companies like Air Canada would understand more quickly if their behavior was causing them to lose customers. Obviously, that would require a bit of that “pride” that Mr. Legault constantly talks about.