In fairness, he didn’t go to the Montreal Chamber of Commerce to discuss the French language. He was cornered for giving a speech mostly in English (apparently there was some perfunctory French in there), and, amongst other things, asked a question about how he survived in Montreal for 14 years without speaking French.

To the extent that he made a gaffe, it was in saying he was too busy to learn the language, which I think we can all agree is almost certainly true. The question, then, is whether he should have lied or offered a misleading statement about it, along the lines of “I’m working on it” when that may not be the case (which made the subsequent apology and commitment to “improving” worse IMHO).

Should note that the question itself was asinine. I don’t think anybody in Montreal hasn’t noticed that it’s “world class” status is based in large part on its transient population - non-QC domestic and international students and corporates living there temporarily - of which he is one. Cities like that inevitably need to cater to Anglo-onlys (like most folk working at ICAO), so it’s hardly shocking that he’s managed to get by in English. I would question how the journalist wasn’t smart enough to recognize that. Or maybe they did, making this a wholly cynical exercise aimed at dragging him into a political debate he really has no place in.

As for spitting in the face of a major customer base…errr… AC Y “banana bread” claimed that crown years ago. “Cabin cleanliness” would have been another, literal, contender, but COVID seems to have knocked it off it’s perch.