Air Canada CEO to retire after backlash over English-only crash message

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau said helium volition discontinue aboriginal this year, days aft drawing criticism for an English-only condolence connection pursuing this month's deadly clang successful New York.

Canada's largest airline, based successful French-speaking Quebec, said Rousseau, who is 68, told the committee helium volition permission by the extremity of September. Air Canada, which is required by instrumentality to connection formation work successful both English and French, said it volition hunt for a caller CEO who has "the quality to pass successful French."

The clang occurred connected March 22, erstwhile an Air Canada Jazz formation from Montreal arrived astatine New York's LaGuardia Airport and collided with a fire-and-rescue conveyance connected a runway. The plane's 2 pilots were killed successful the crash. They were Antoine Forest, a French-speaking Quebecer, and Mackenzie Gunther, a postgraduate of Toronto's Seneca Polytechnic. 

After the crash, Rousseau delivered his condolence video message successful English, with French subtitles. 

Canada is an officially bilingual nation, and Prime Minister Mark Carney had said the English-only connection showed a deficiency of compassion and judgment. Quebec's premier and others called connected the hose enforcement to resign, portion the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has received hundreds of complaints.

Steven MacKinnon, Canada's transport minister, thanked Rousseau successful a societal media station and said the authorities volition proceed to enactment intimately with Air Canada to guarantee it "provides safe, reliable, affordable and bilingual work to each Canadians."

Quebec Premier François Legault noted that erstwhile Rousseau was appointed president of the hose successful February 2021, helium promised to larn French. Before serving arsenic Air Canada's CEO, Rousseau had worked arsenic the airline's lawman CEO and main fiscal officer.

Quebec's individuality has been contentious since the 1760s, erstwhile the British completed their takeover of what was past called New France. Quebec is astir 80% French-speaking.

In:

• Canada