I don't disagree with the above. Which is precisely why I started my comment by wanting to leave the issue proper aside.

Isn't not about a need to be bilingual but about putting his foot in his mouth the way he did. Which showed very poor judgement. My point then being that if he showed such a poor judgement in the current case, might he not show equally poor judgement in issues of great relevance to the company?

I don�t agree with the premise. Lots of individuals are brilliant in certain fields, but display �poor judgment� in others.

I can guarantee that there are a lot of doctors, pilots and CEOs who think what he does - and would say it as plainly, if not more abruptly. it doesn�t make them bad at what they do.

I know �I�ve got better things to do than invest time in this� rankles the blowhards, but if it�s true, it�s true. I�d be a lot less comfortable if displaying judgment meant either misleading people, or just plain lying.

There is something to be said for honesty.

I'm remembering something about a PO box and a janitor.

Seems like much hoopla about nothing to me, as the international language of aviation is English. It's not like he's serving AC's passengers and needs to speak French to them. I'm sure the institutions and investors he needs to speak to all speak English.

Please note that the numerous posts on the AC CEO's apparent lack of French have been moved out of their original location in this thread and out into a new thread on the topic as it was felt the matter deserved its own thread.

Merci,

tcook052
Air Canada forum co-moderator

The thing that surprised me most about this tempest in a teacup is that a guy named Rousseau wasn't a Quebecker of francophone origin.

Very little in this story makes sense to me.

You live in Montreal for 14 years and don't understand how thin-skinned Quebecers are about language issues? The Quebecor papers publish a story a week how you can't speak French in Montreal any more.

A CEO who deliberately or by gross neglect spits in the face of a major customer base? Sure, customer service is not his are, but some basic PR skills are surely part of the package for a CEO?

Just doesn't add up. Almost wondering if this is a dead cat, but what would he want to distract from?

I did not want to wade in to this mess but you summarized it much better than I could. As a French Canadian, I could care less if he is perfectly bilingual, or how much of his speech was in French, blah blah.

It is the complete tone deafness (almost Rhodesian) and lack of political knowledge (at best) to say that Montr�al was wonderful because you don't need to speak French. I am annoyed at how stupid he is, not at what languages he may or may not speak.

Add to that an irrelevant mayoral candidate (election is next weekend) that wants a referendum on making Montreal a bilingual city state (shades of the long forgotten Richard Libman and the Equality Party) that is fanning the flames and I feel right back in the 70s when my father was Bourassa's Chief of Staff and half my family hated the other half. Fun times.

Happily, this will all blow over and we can go back to the vast majority of Montrealers that have been getting along for at least the last two decades swimmingly.

But boy is he stupid.

Agree 100%.

Chiming in as a member of the so-called "communaut� historique des Qu�b�cois d'expression anglaise", born, bred and lifelong resident of YQB. Indeed, linguistic fluency or lack thereof is not at all the issue in this episode of "mild turbulence".

What is up for examination is the apparent lack of personal and corporate awareness demontrated by thinking that the CEO could be sent out to what was thought to be just another boring business luncheon in the middle of the current slow boil of linguistic tension in Montreal, partially manufactured, or course, by the CAQ & PKP outrage machines.

The tone and manner adopted by the CEO was just plain wrong, especially in the post-luncheon scrum and in the apology issued the next day. This could have been avoided very easily with some basic preparation by the PR/GR team.

This too shall pass and will not have a big impact on AC's brand in Quebec, except amongst the chattering classes. Most folks just want to get a good fare for a winter holiday in FLL, MCO and CUN.

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.

Then I guess you would be just as suprised to learn that lots of people named Smith, Ryan or Cavanagh (and the long list goes on...) are ?

I�ll bite: how would you respond to �how have you managed to live in Montreal for 14 years without learning French?�

There is IMHO no answer that would have not caused offence.

His response - that it was a testament to Montreal that an Anglo can live here without speaking French - basically amounted to calling it a global metropolitan city, which was the only avenue left open to him.

Not that it needs to be said, but Montreal�s global status is directly attributable to its ability to accommodate transitory anglos from the world over for years on end.

Perhaps Rousseau should invest in a �Just Visiting� t-shirt :P. Might not help with those calling for his resignation though.

Canada has two official languages. As long as he can speak one of them, who cares?