Simon Jolin-Barrette calls for resignation of Air Canada CEO

The CAQ government is calling for the resignation of Air Canada president Michael Rousseau because of his “contempt” for the country’s Francophones, after his video of condolences in English only for the victims of the Montreal-New York flight crash.

Premier François Legault pointed out on Wednesday that the CEO of Air Canada had nevertheless committed to learning French in 2021. 

“If he still doesn’t speak French today, it’s a lack of respect towards his employees and towards his Francophone clients, so yes, I think if he doesn’t speak French, he should resign,” he said during a short press scrum before heading to question period. 

For his part, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “disappointed” by the CEO’s video message.

Earlier this week, the CEO of Air Canada released a message only in English following the death of two pilots, one of whom was from Quebec, in the collision of their plane with a fire truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

“I am so disappointed by the video message from the CEO of Air Canada; it lacks judgment and compassion,” Carney said upon arriving at the federal parliament Wednesday morning. 

“We proudly live in a bilingual country, there are two official languages, and Air Canada has a special responsibility to communicate at all times, in any situation, in both official languages,” he added.

“This is contemptuous,” said Quebec government parliamentary leader and Minister of Justice Simon-Jolin Barrette in a press scrum on Wednesday.

“Michael Rousseau doesn’t even have that sensitivity towards all the Francophones in the country, Air Canada too, Air Canada should force him to resign,” he continued, calling him a “repeat offender” because of his history of disrespecting French as the official language.

Liberal leader Charles Milliard refused to go that far, arguing that the carrier is a private company, but Québec solidaire (QS) co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal called for the head of the Air Canada boss. 

On Tuesday, the House of Commons summoned Rousseau to appear before the Official Languages ​​Committee, since even though it was privatized in 1988, Air Canada remains subject to the Official Languages ​​Act.  

In the video, which has been posted on multiple social media platforms, Rousseau refers to a “very dark day” for the carrier and indicates that he is “deeply saddened” by the death of the two pilots.

In nearly four minutes, Rousseau, the same man who in 2021 was pleased to have lived 14 years in Montreal without speaking a word of French, nevertheless utters two words in French: a “bonjour” at the very beginning and a “merci” at the end.

The airline spokesperson explained that Rousseau wanted to speak in person and to do so before going to the scene of the accident.

“Despite his efforts, his ability to express himself in French does not allow him to communicate such a delicate message in that language as he would like. We therefore used subtitles to allow everyone to receive his message directly,” wrote Christophe Hennebelle.

Rousseau has a long history of linguistic controversies, as does his company, which is the subject of an unenviable number of complaints year after year to the Commissioner of Official Languages ​​for the lack of services in French. 

In 2021, the CEO sparked a wave of outrage after a speech he delivered primarily in English in Montreal.

He later apologized, explaining that he did not mean to disrespect Quebecers and Francophones across the country. He also pledged to improve his French, but three years after the controversy, he remained unable to answer questions in that language.

— With information from Michel Saba in Ottawa

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews