Protesters gather at Air Canada headquarters, demand CEO’s removal over French language skills
CTV
Protesters descended on Air Canada's Montreal headquarters Saturday, angered at CEO Michael Rousseau's inability to converse in French.
"The Society Saint-Jean-Baptiste (SSJB) of Montreal is demanding more than an apology from the president and CEO of Air Canada, Mr. Michael Rousseau," protest organizers say, adding that they are demanding Rousseau be removed from the company.
The SSJB points out that Air Canada's Language Action Plan says the airline is proud to provide services in both official languages and is a leader among Canadian companies in promoting bilingualism.
"Showing no real leadership on bilingualism, Mr. Rousseau is going against his own language policy," the SSJB says. "As a unilingual Anglophone, he can no longer assume the position of president and CEO."
About 100 protesters gathered on a rainy Saturday afternoon in support of the SSJB's position.
