MONTREAL — Air Canada’s president and CEO Michael Rousseau has apologized for not being able to speak or understand the French language.
“In no way did I mean to show disrespect for Quebecers and francophones across the country. I apologize to those who were offended by my remarks,” he said Thursday. “I pledge today to improve my French, an official language of Canada and the common language of Quebec.”
This comes after Rousseau told reporters Wednesday he has been “able to live in Montreal without speaking French and I think that’s a testament to the City of Montreal.”
He had just addressed Montreal’s Chamber of Commerce almost entirely in English.
His comments were met by fierce criticism, including Canada’s minister of official languages.
“Air Canada offers an important service to Canadians,” wrote Ginette Petitpas on Twitter. “It must do so in both official languages – and its leaders must set an example.”
Rousseau has been living in Montreal for 14 years, but grew up in Ontario.
Addressing the press after his 26-minute speech, the majority of which was in English, he admitted that his command of the French language was weak.
“Quebec is now my home and I have acquired some conversational French, but while my comprehension is fair, my ability to speak it fluently remains limited,” he said.
When asked in French how he managed to live in Quebec’s largest city for so many years without speaking the language, he paused and requested the question be posed in English to “make sure I understand before I respond.”
Following his request, the reporter continued in French, stating it was understood that Rousseau’s language skills were “functional” before he was named CEO earlier this year, forcing him to glance at his attaché for help.
“I think he addressed questions about language earlier if we could move onto other topics,” she stated; leading another reporter to ask a second question in French about his language skills.
Seemingly stumbling to comprehend, Rousseau answered in English: “I would love to speak French, while my family has a French background, but right now my priority is ensuring Air Canada gets back to where they were.”
The CEO invited reporters to “look at my work schedule,” implying that he simply does not have the time to attend language classes.
DEMANDING AN APOLOGY
Quebec Premier François Legault is now demanding Rousseau apologize for not attempting to take French lessons, despite his many years living in the province.
The premier, who is currently in Glasgow, SC for the United Nations Summit on Climate Change (COP26), says he was outraged by the CEO’s attitude and wants him to make amends.
“I watched the video of Mr. Rousseau and I find it insulting. It makes me angry, his attitude, to say that it’s been 14 years since he’s been in Quebec and he did not need to learn French. It’s unspeakable, it shocks me,” he said. “It shows a lack of respect towards the French-speaking employees of Air Canada.”
In fact, on the eve of Rousseau’s speech, Quebec Language Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette was already demanding that the company and its management “do better.”
“It would be respectful to address the business community in Montreal, Quebec’s French-speaking metropolis, in its official language, French,” he stated.
The head of Montreal’s Chamber of Commerce, Michael Leblanc, adds he was also surprised by Rousseau’s choice to not address the community in French.
“We expected that the CEO would recognize the importance of knowing French,” he said. “For the leader of a major corporation in Quebec, I would hope that he would commit publicly to learning French.”
Rousseau was named CEO when Calin Rovinescu retired in February after leading the country’s largest airline for almost 12 years.
With files from CTV News’ Lillian Roy and Rob Lurie
