Late Sunday evening, Air Canada Express Flight 8646 collided with a fire truck on the runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The disaster killed pilots Mackenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest, and sent over 40 people to the hospital. Now, the airline’s leadership is facing a massive political crisis over its response.
CEO Michael Rousseau released a four-minute video message to address the tragedy. He said he was “deeply saddened” by the “very dark day” for the company. But the video was delivered entirely in English. It contained exactly two French words: “bonjour” and “merci.” Forest was a French-speaking Quebecer.
Carney condemns lack of compassion
On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Mark Carney publicly rebuked Rousseau. Speaking on his way into a caucus meeting, Carney said he was “very disappointed.” He called the unilingual video a “lack of judgment” and a “lack of compassion.” Carney stressed that companies like Air Canada have a strict responsibility to communicate in both official languages.
The backlash was immediate. By Tuesday afternoon, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages received exactly 84 formal complaints about the video. Lawmakers took action shortly after. Rousseau is now summoned to testify before the House of Commons official languages committee. The incident sent shockwaves through the Canadian business sector as executives watched the fallout.
A history of language controversies
This is not a new issue for Rousseau. In late 2021 and early 2022, the executive sparked national outrage over his language skills. He admitted he lived in Montreal for 14 years without learning to speak French. That admission forced him to formally apologize to a parliamentary committee.
The failure to provide bilingual condolences for a fatal crash involving a Francophone pilot has reignited that historical friction. Parliament is now waiting for his testimony.