Justin Trudeau said he was “blown away” by the absence of Francophones on the board of directors of Canadian National (CN), which also aroused the anger and indignation of opposition parties in Ottawa.
• Read also: No Francophones on CN’s Board
• Read also: No Francophone on the Board: CN makes its mea culpa
The Prime Minister’s astonishment stems from the fact that “a company like CN, a national company, subject to federal rules, subject to the Official Languages Act, did not see what happened to Air Canada , did not learn the lesson that seemed to me quite obvious”.
Mr. Trudeau is referring here to the scandal that rocked Air Canada and its CEO, Michael Rousseau, last fall, because of his unilingualism.
“La Presse” revealed Thursday morning that all the members of the board of directors of the railway company, whose head office is located in Montreal, do not speak French at all.
“I understand that people are frustrated. I am too,” added Mr. Trudeau, who said he had asked an “appropriate minister” to make representations to CN so that it “work quickly to rectify the situation”.
In the face of the outcry, CN announced that it intended to correct the situation during the coming year. A nomination might also take place as early as May.
Oppositions in Ottawa scandalized
The situation caused a real shock wave in Ottawa, where all the opposition parties were outraged by the news.
Conservative critic for Official Languages, Joël Godin, believes that the “federal government’s inaction” is “worrying” and “adds to a whole series of controversies that have rocked this government” with regard to in defense of French.
At the Bloc Québécois, Mario Beaulieu believes that we should be concerned regarding CN’s complete lack of sensitivity to the French fact, which risks directly affecting the company’s employees and French-speaking customers.
“If the Minister of Official Languages is serious in her desire to combat the decline of the French language, she must directly challenge the board of directors to ensure the presence of Francophones,” he said in a press release. .
For Mr. Beaulieu, “it is clear that more and more, French is becoming an optional language in Canada, particularly among companies serving Quebec and which are subject to the Official Languages Act, as is the case of CN or Air Canada”.
On the side of the NDP, spokesperson Niki Ashton also pointed the finger at the Liberals who “fail in their responsibilities towards Quebecers, Acadians and French-speaking minority communities”.
Mme Ashton points out that the government has appointed a unilingual English-speaking immigration minister, Sean Fraser, as well as a unilingual lieutenant-governor in New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province in the country.
“This phenomenon is copied and pasted in the large companies that serve the population from one end of the country to the other. After the lack of respect of the CEO of Air Canada, people are increasingly angry at the contemptuous gestures of the wealthy CN leaders towards Francophones, ”deplores the MP.
“The Liberals pretend to be concerned regarding the decline of French, but the Commissioner of Official Languages has sounded the alarm regarding the existence of a systemic crisis in French for which Francophone workers are paying the price. Enough is enough.”
Jean Charest, former premier of Quebec and candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, was named earlier this year to the board of directors of the railway company.
“CN is a company deeply rooted in Quebec, having its head office in Montreal. I am convinced that the leaders will remedy this situation, ”shared his press secretary.
Several hours following the news was revealed by The Press Thursday morning, CN made its mea culpa.
“The absence of French-speaking administrators will be resolved in the next year,” said the company in an email sent to the Journal.
