Do You Speak French?
“Bonjour” and “Merci”!!!
My junior high PE teacher used to yell: “Common sense is not so common!!” And holy hell, he was right, especially when it comes to Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau.
This guy has been running the airline since February 2021. Back in March 2022, he stood in front of the parliamentary committee on official languages and promised he’d learn French. Five years later? Still waiting. So when two young pilots, including a French-speaking Québécois, tragically lost their lives in that horrific runway collision at LaGuardia, what did “Mikey” deliver in his heartfelt video message?
“Bonjour.”
“Merci.”
That’s it. The rest? Straight English, with French subtitles. Two words after living in Montreal for 14 years!!!
In fairness, most Canadians who “speak French” only know those two words anyway… but when you’re the CEO of a Montreal-based national carrier, with a PR team, and subject to the Official Languages Act, and one of the dead pilots was from Quebec? Come on.
Mon Tabarnak!
This isn’t just tone-deaf. After half a decade of “lessons,” it’s borderline insulting, especially to the families and francophone employees.
Read the article below:
What do you think — should the board finally show some common sense and find a CEO who can actually function in both official languages? Or is this the new standard for “leadership” in Canada?
AirCanada MichaelRousseau OfficialLanguages LeadershipFail Tabarnak
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