A demonstration will take place on Saturday in front of Air Canada’s head office, on the Boulevard de la Côte-Vertu, in Montreal, “to denounce the board of directors” and their decision to retain President and CEO Michael Russo.
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Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste (SSJB), which is organizing the event, promises that “several public figures will attend, and some will speak”.
Representatives of Quebec Solidere and the Caucus of Quebec, as well as other organizations fighting for French or for the independence of Quebec, will participate: the National Movement of Quebec City, the OUI Québec, and the party’s National Youth Commission. Quebecwa and the French imperative group.
Mr. Rousseau has not shown any real leadership in terms of bilingualism, he is against his language policy. As a monolingual English speaker, he could no longer take on the position of President and CEO. We call on the Board of Directors to act in a responsible and coherent manner by removing Michael Rousseau from the position he holds as long as he is not proficient in French, the public and official language of Quebec. It’s about the company’s respect for its partners, employees, customers, and the nation of Quebec,” it was written on a Facebook event created for the occasion.
For Mary Ann Alpine, President of the SSJB, “The fact that it is possible for a monolingual English person to reach the highest management position of a Canadian company whose head office is located here in Quebec is beyond comprehension.”
The scandal of not mastering the French language by the CEO of Air Canada, who lived in Quebec for 14 years, caused real outrage in Quebec.
The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada identified more than 2,000 complaints related to Mr. Rousseau’s speech at the Montreal Chamber of Commerce.