00:00Hello, bonjour, thank you, merci.
00:02Bonjour and merci.
00:04Those were the only French words Air Canada's CEO used in a video statement
00:09after a deadly collision at La Guardia Airport on March 22nd.
00:14An Air Canada express plane hit a firetruck on the tarmac, killing two pilots.
00:19But instead of focusing solely on the tragedy, the response quickly shifted to language.
00:25The CEO's message was delivered almost entirely in English,
00:30and in Canada, especially in Quebec, well, that matters.
00:34The country has two official languages, English and French,
00:38and Air Canada is legally required to serve passengers and boat.
00:42The airline is also based in Montreal, in French-speaking Quebec,
00:46where protecting the French language is deeply tied to identity and politics.
00:52Critics were quick to point out that one of the two pilots who died was a French-speaking Quebecer,
00:58along with several injured passengers.
01:01And this wasn't the first controversy for Michael Rousseau.
01:06Back in 2021, when he was appointed CEO,
01:09he gave a speech in Montreal, entirely in English,
01:12downplaying the role of French afterward, sparking outrage.
01:16And this time around, he had little room for error.
01:19It reached the highest levels of governments,
01:21and Rousseau said Monday he'll step down at the end of September.
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