The 2,680 complaints filed following the Michael Rousseau affair are founded, concludes the Commissioner of Official Languages, who also blames the carrier Air Canada, in a preliminary report consulted by the Journal.
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“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 might communicate and receive information in the official language of their choice, while Law compelled him to do so,” wrote the commissioner.
“The complaints therefore prove to be well-founded in view of the obligations provided for in this part of the Law “, he continues.
The genesis of the fiasco
In his preliminary report, Mr. Théberge reviews the events that culminated in the November 3 fiasco.
In February 2021, Michael Rousseau became the boss of the carrier. The company then told the Journal that he spoke “functional French which he strives to continually improve”.
On November 1, the Newspaper reported that the CEO had decided to give his first speech in Quebec in English.
Upon learning of 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. In a press briefing, he 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 to the honor of the city ”.
CCMM knew, says Air Canada
In its defence, Air Canada claims that the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM) had been advised that the CEO’s speech would be in English and did not consider it necessary to offer simultaneous translation to participants.
Air Canada also considers that during interactions with journalists, in particular representatives of the Journal and TVA, Mr. Rousseau did not have to respect both official languages.
