Air Canada CEO Scorned for English-Only Condolences Speech
Source: nytimes.com
- Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau gave a speech in mostly English after a deadly jet-truck collision at LaGuardia Airport.
- The pilots died, including one whose family speaks French, an official Canadian language.
- Critics attacked Rousseau for not using French, sparking a national debate on bilingualism.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau faced backlash for delivering condolences almost entirely in English after his airline's jet collided with a truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing two pilots. The incident highlighted ongoing tensions over language use in Canada, where both English and French are official languages, especially since Air Canada has special bilingual obligations from its former state-owned status. It matters because Rousseau has a history of French-language criticism, and t