Carney 'very disappointed' in Air Canada CEO's English-only condolence video, says it lacked compassion
CBC
Prime Minister Mark Carney had pointed words for the head of Canada's largest airline early Wednesday, saying the Air Canada CEO's unilingual message of condolences to those affected by the recent deadly crash showed a "lack of judgment" and "a lack of compassion."
"We proudly live in a bilingual country and companies like Air Canada particularly have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages, regardless of the situation. I'm very disappointed," the prime minister said on his way into a caucus meeting.
The airline posted Michael Rousseau's four-minute video message after Air Canada Express Flight 8646 hit a fire truck on the runway of New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday. The crash killed both pilots, Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther, and sent more than 40 people to hospital.
Forest was a French-speaking Quebecer.
In his unilingual message, Rousseau said he was "deeply saddened" by the loss of life and said the collision was a "very dark day" for Air Canada.
Outside of Rousseau saying "bonjour" at the beginning and "merci" at the end, he delivered the message in English, with French subtitles. While Air Canada was privatized decades ago it remains subject to the Official Languages Act.
Rousseau now finds himself the target of political backlash and, as of Wednesday morning, some 561 complaints to the Commissioner of Official Languages.
Carney said the unilingual message "particularly in these circumstances" showed a "lack of judgment, a lack of compassion."
Quebec cabinet minister Mélanie Joly said given "a lot of the victims and their families are francophones" the video showed a "lack of empathy."
"I think it's a question of moral leadership," she said.
Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller said he's holding back to not make "political hay over what remains a tragedy with people still in hospital."
"He should know better," he said, alluding to Rousseau's previous language controversy. After giving a predominantly English speech in 2021, he told a reporter he didn't need to learn French in order to live in Montreal.
Rousseau later apologized and said he started French lessons.
In an an online post, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet called the video a "sad and gross lack of respect towards the loved ones and family" of pilot Forest.
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