Air Canada continues to be haunted by the Rousseau affair. The Commissioner of Official Languages blames the carrier for the events of last November and judges that the 2680 complaints are founded in a preliminary report consulted by Le Journal.
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In a 17-page document sent to the complainants and to Air Canada, Raymond Théberge writes that the company did not respect the law during the speech of its boss, Michael Rousseau, before the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM).
“Air Canada did not fulfill its obligations since it did not take the necessary measures to ensure that those present during the incidents of November 3, 2021 could communicate and receive information in the official language of their choice, when the law required him to do so,” writes commissioner Raymond Théberge.
“The complaints therefore prove to be well-founded given the obligations provided for in this part of the Act,” he continues.
Genesis of the fiasco
In his report, Mr. Théberge reviews the sequence of events that paved the way for the November 3 fiasco.
In February 2021, Michael Rousseau became the boss of the carrier. The company then told the Log that he spoke “functional French which he strives to continually improve”.
On November 1, Le Journal reported that the CEO had decided to deliver his first speech in Quebec in English.
Upon hearing this news, several stakeholders, including the Office of the Commissioner and the office of the Premier of Quebec, informed Air Canada of its linguistic obligations and of the risk associated with such a speech. But the company decided to ignore the warnings.
Then the leader made his speech in English, replied that he had no time to learn French and that he had been able to live in the language of Shakespeare for 14 years in Montreal, “which was the honor of the city.
“Many complainants said that the CEO’s remarks were contemptuous, disrespectful, insulting, hurtful, inexcusable and shameful and that they lacked sensitivity towards the French language,” the commissioner pointed out.
The CCMM was aware
In its defence, Air Canada asserts that the CCMM had been advised that the CEO’s speech would be in English and did not consider it useful to offer simultaneous translation to the participants.
Air Canada also considers that during interactions with journalists, in particular representatives of the Log and TVA, Mr. Rousseau did not have to respect both official languages.
The commissioner did not accept Air Canada’s arguments, but pointed out that the company “has undertaken to take certain measures to demonstrate its commitment to both official languages”.
In his report, the Commissioner of Official Languages, Raymond Théberge, does not fail to recall the importance of the Rousseau affair for Francophones and makes several recommendations.
“I also see that the incidents of November 3, 2021 had a real impact on the status of French in Canada,” he wrote in the document.
The latter also recommends that Air Canada take “concrete and effective measures to make senior management aware” of the fact that all communications intended for the public “must always be made in both official languages, equal quality.
The Commissioner also proposes adding a specific performance objective concerning official languages to the performance evaluation of each member of senior management, “an objective that will be linked to concrete and measurable performance indicators.”
Air Canada should also submit a semi-annual update on the progress of their initiatives, concludes Mr. Théberge.
Resignation requested
The Impératif français organization, several of whose members filed complaints with the commissioner after the November incidents, denounced the “softness and the language of wood” of the report as well as the reaction of the Canadian government in the file.
“This problem is wanted in the upper echelons of Parliament for the advancement of English, to support the decline of French and to submit Quebec to the Canadian vision”, underlined President Jean-Paul Perreault.
According to him, the report is however one more element which should lead Mr. Rousseau to leave. “Since this CEO of Air Canada is unilingual English and therefore unable to speak French, or very little, he should never have been hired,” he said.
Air Canada said it is aware of the report and may comment.
“Air Canada recently announced new official languages measures that will strengthen and solidify its commitment to bilingualism in its corporate culture,” we were emailed.