Air Canada CEO's French Skills Under Fire

0:00It's March 25th. Welcome to Canada News Today, powered by AI, I'm Cory with the story. Air Canada CEO, Michael Russo, is facing fresh backlash over his limited French skills after a tragic plane crash. Last Sunday, a flight from Montreal to New York's LaGuardia Airport went down, killing two pilots, one a francophone from Quebec. Russo responded in a video with just hello and thank you in French, then switched to English with subtitles. Quebec premier Francois Legault demanded his resignation, while others called it a lack of compassion, this isn't the first time. Back in February 2021, when Russo got the top job after years as chief financial officer in Montreal, he promised Quebec's premiere, he'd learned French. But by November that year, he gave an English-only speech to Montreal's business crowd, sparking outrage when he joked about living there 14. Years without picking up the language. The reaction was swift and strong.

1:00Protests hit Air Canada's Montreal office, over 1,000 complaints poured into the official languages commissioner and politicians accused him of insulting Quebecers. He hired a tutor and faced a federal committee in March 2022 where he struggled through questions in French. Russo has kept studying, logging 10 hours a week back then, and Air Canada reports he still added, with most executives now bilingual. But after this week's video, 795 new complaints rolled in, and MPs are summoning him to Ottawa again for questioning. Tensions run high in bilingual Canada, especially after such a heartbreaking crash, leaving many to wonder if Russo's promises will ever stick.