On Sunday night, we saw a tragic accident at LaGuardia (LGA), whereby an Air Canada Jazz CRJ-900 and a fire truck collided on the runway, leading to the death of the two pilots, plus several injuries.
This is beyond tragic, and obviously the primary focus should be on those who suffered because of this. However, it’s also interesting to note what’s becoming a very big story in Canada, with many calling on Air Canada’s CEO to resign, accusing him of being disrespectful.
Air Canada CEO only records video in English, not French
On Monday, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau recorded a video message about the accident that happened at LaGuardia.
The reality is that these videos almost always follow the same formats, so this video is virtually identical to ones that we’ve seen following past accidents at other airlines (as you can see in the below side-by-side comparison, shared by @LiveFromALounge).
But there’s one thing about the video that stood out the most to many people — the video was only recorded in English, and not French. The only French in the video was a “bonjour” at the beginning, and a “merci” at the end.
Canada has two official languages — English and French — and this was a flight from Montreal, and one of the pilots who was killed is from French-speaking Quebec.
Rousseau has been slammed for this video, given what a sensitive topic language can be in Canada:
- Canada’s Official Languages Committee has voted to demand that Rousseau explain himself, about why a video wasn’t recorded in French as well
- Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet has said that “in light of this sad and gross lack of respect towards the loved ones and family of the pilot from Coteau-du-Lac, Antoine Forest, a French-speaking Quebecer, the head of Air Canada must very seriously ask himself whether he has not clearly disqualified himself for the position he holds”
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that the video shows “a lack of compassion,” saying that “we live in a bilingual country, and companies like Air Canada particularly have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages”
In response to this criticism, Air Canada has released the following statement:
“Mr. Rousseau felt it was important to personally address our customers, our employees, and those of Jazz, their families, and all those affected in any way. He therefore recorded a message before leaving for the crash site.”
“Despite his efforts, his ability to speak French does not allow him to convey such a sensitive message as effectively as he would have liked in that language. We have therefore used subtitles to ensure everyone can receive his message directly.”
In isolation you might not think much of this situation, but there’s history here of his issues with French. In 2021, Rousseau gave his first major speech as CEO of the airline, which was 26 minutes long, with only 20 seconds of it being in French.
After the speech, he took questions from reporters. A French journalist asked him (in French) how he has been able to live in Montreal for 14 years while speaking so little French. In response to this, Rousseau said:
“Can you redo that in English? Because I want to make sure I understand your question before I respond to it.”
At that point the journalist repeated the question in English:
“How can you live in Montreal without speaking French? Is it easy?”
Rousseau responded with the following:
“I’ve been able to live in Montreal without speaking French, and I think that’s a testament to the city of Montreal.”
You can watch the interaction for yourself below.
Following this, Rousseau committed to improving his French, releasing the following statement:
“I want to make it clear that in no way did I mean to show disrespect for Quebecers and francophones across the country. I apologize to those who were offended by my remarks. I pledge today to improve my French, an official language of Canada and the common language of Québec, while tackling the serious commercial challenges facing Air Canada as we move from surviving the pandemic to rebuilding to normalcy. The fact that this iconic company is headquartered in Montreal is a source of pride for me and our entire executive team. I reiterate Air Canada’s commitment to show respect for French and, as a leader, I will set the tone.”
My take on Rousseau’s French language controversy
I see people taking strong stances on both sides here. Some people find it ridiculous that language is what’s being focused on with such a major accident, where people lost their lives. At the same time, who am I to tell people who care about language whether they should or shouldn’t be offended, especially since this is something that impacts their community?
Bigger picture, I just don’t see how Rousseau is still CEO of Air Canada. The funny thing is that Air Canada is well run, and has some excellent senior executives, like Mark Galardo, Mark Nasr, etc. Admittedly they’re still pretty young, but they know the industry as good as anyone does, and are incredibly competent. All of that says nothing of the fact that Ben Smith (who was previously President at Air Canada, and is now CEO of Air France-KLM) should’ve just been made CEO of Air Canada earlier, and then he might not have left.
What’s bizarre is that you’d assume that Rousseau has just been missing for five years, since I don’t think there’s an airline CEO out there who is less public. And it seems to be precisely because of his lack of French. Now he makes an appearance, only to cause this controversy again.
Maybe there’s something I’m missing — is this guy some sort of genius in the background? At least from the outside, it seems to me that guys like Galardo and Nasr are running the show, and I’m not sure what value Rousseau is adding? If nothing else, a CEO needs to be able to get employees excited and behind something, and Rousseau has never struck me as someone who accomplishes that.
But maybe I’m wrong? I’m just going off my observations here, plus that I almost never see an appearance from him.
Bottom line
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau is once again facing backlash over his lack of French. He recorded a video about Sunday night’s accident at LaGuardia, but only in English, and not in French, despite the fact that he committed to improving his French, after a similar scandal years ago.
This is so serious that even the Prime Minister is commenting on it, and politicians are calling on him to explain himself. While it’s hardly the most important topic in the aftermath of an accident, I can’t wrap my head around how this guy still has his job…
What do you make of this Air Canada CEO language controversy?
