CEO Michael Rousseau to step down after backlash over English-only condolence video
Rob Gillies
Toronto: Air Canada has announced that its CEO, Michael Rousseau, will retire later this year after he was criticized for posting a condolence message only in English following this month’s fatal plane crash in New York.
Canada’s largest airline, based in French-speaking Quebec, said Rousseau told its board he would leave at the end of the third quarter.
Canada is officially a bilingual country, and Prime Minister Mark Carney had said the English-only message showed a lack of compassion and judgment. Quebec’s premier and others called on the airline executive to resign.
Antoine Forest, one of the two pilots who died in the crash at LaGuardia Airport, was a French-speaking Quebecer. Forest and Mackenzie Gunther died on March 22 when their Air Canada Jazz flight from Montreal collided with a fire truck on the runway shortly after landing.
Canada’s largest airline is headquartered in Montreal. Rousseau had previously been criticized for not speaking French.
He delivered his condolence video message in English with French subtitles. The Office of the Official Languages Commissioner has received hundreds of complaints about this issue.
“I deeply regret that my inability to speak French distracts from the deep pain of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada employees who have demonstrated extraordinary professionalism despite the events of the past few days.” Rousseau said in a statement last week:.
“Unfortunately, despite the many lessons I have taken over several years, I still cannot express myself adequately in French. I sincerely apologize for this, but I continue to strive to improve myself.”
Canadian Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon He thanked Rousseau in his social media post and said the government will continue to work closely with Air Canada to ensure it “provides safe, reliable, affordable and bilingual service to all Canadians.”
Quebec Premier François Legault noted that Rousseau promised to learn French when he was appointed president of the airline in February 2021.
Quebec’s identity has been disputed since the 1760s, when the British completed their takeover of what was then called New France. About 80 percent of Quebec is French-speaking.
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