This story is absurd, but also typically Canadian because there’s a background of duplicity at work.
The topline story is that Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau is resigning from his office following backlash in Quebec after he released a statement of condolence in the English language. The Quebec legislature and Prime Minister Mark Carney both demanded his resignation because they were offended that Rousseau did not speak French.
Air Canada was involved in a horrific crash at New York’s La Guardia airport. While the airline was not at fault, the CEO released a public message of condolence for the pilots who were killed and the passengers who were injured. The message was delivered in English. That’s the substantive reasoning given for the Canadian outrage.
(VIA NBC) – Air Canada announced Monday its CEO will retire later this year, after Michael Rousseau was criticized for his English-only message of condolence following this month’s deadly crash in New York.
Canada’s largest airline, based in French-speaking Quebec, said Rousseau told the board he will leave by the end of the third quarter.
Canada is an officially bilingual nation, and Prime Minister Mark Carney had said the English-only message showed a lack of compassion and judgment. Quebec’s premier and others called on the airline executive to resign.
[…] Canada’s largest airline is headquartered in Montreal. Rousseau previously had been criticized for not speaking French. He delivered his condolence video message in English, with French subtitles. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has received hundreds of complaints about it. (read more)
That said, there’s more to this story.
Listen to this video:
🚨 BREAKING:
The Air Canada CEO just “retired.”
Not because of years of Official Languages violations.
Not because of record complaints to the Commissioner.
Not because his airline has been fined over and over for failing to serve Canadians in French.
Because he posted a… pic.twitter.com/dhwy3CrQT2
— Mario Zelaya (@mario4thenorth) March 30, 2026
He should have delivered it in Mandarin.
Or Arabic!
Or, as many from Paris would suggest, real proper French.
This illustrates why we need to have Official English in the USA.
Every time there is some “bi-ligual” thing, the “minority” language gets all the protection, the actual language of the land, in our case, English, is treated as “oppressive”.
Cultural Marxism, destroy the society.
Or Pig Latin.
Or Chinese
Brooklyneese
Wait, did he give a land acknowlegement to all the First Nations of Canada and also speak in Hindi, Sanskrit, Pashtun/Pakistani, and Catonese?
He should be forced to face the gauntlet ordeal.
Mongolian? Is that even a language? I will see myself out…
Oddly enough, Yes.
https://www.viewmongolia.com/mongolia-language.html
Amazing how it has survived Chinese, Japanese, Russian and now English.
Esperanto
“………..should have delivered it in Mandarin.”
Or, out of respect to the two pilots who lost their lives in that terrible accident, he could use the English language, which is the international language spoken by pilots and air traffic controllers the world over. This English language standard allows all pilots and controllers the ability to communicate with one another wherever they are or where they’re from.
“Scrape their dust off of your sandals” as you simply walk away. I don’t think that you’ll find it very hard to find another airline that is eager for your expertise. This is “petty politics.” Let it go. It means nothing. Take a vacation.
Take your money and run ( to the nearest bank).
Credit union!
Hey, snow mexicans how are your second-best Olympic hockey teams doing these days…Baseball? Enjoy selling your souls to China…
Almost ALL NHL games are played in this country and the command center is in Canada.
Almost all players are Canadian or some other European country yet all the money sucked out of American pockets has absolutely no say.
It’s time to put the AHL back in the drivers seat with American players and heavily tax them snow Mexicans.
The NHL’s headquarters headquarters and top executives (including the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner are in New York, just west of Penn Station (I worked for the league in NYC for 13 years before retiring in 2021). You may be referring to the “War Room” in Toronto that confers with game officials on goals and some forms of penalties. The NHL’s top offices were in Canada for decades, but have been in New York for decades.
For the current season, about 41 percent of NHL players are from Canada, about 28 percent from the U.S. Sweden is next at 9.3 percent.
A Canada-based team has not won the Stanley Cup since 1993.
Remember that Hockey match up where the Canadians boo’d our National Anthem….? And the fights that ensued within 9 seconds?
Am thinking of something….AND its NOT a ‘red solo cup’…
Well put a boot in yer….
I can’t imagine living in a perpetually angry/offended state 24/7. Explains why Liberals don’t age well.
Well, that’s sort of how the blue states are, so…
They need Jesus, imo. When you look at things with an eternal perspective, it changes everything. Oh, and there is that “peace that surpasses understanding” thing too.
no truer words.
Have you ever been to Chicago?
“Jesus done left Chicago..”
It’s a passthru for better better pastures.
What with all our hundreds of perpetually offended groups America shouldn’t criticize Canada. My blue eyed light haired very existence offends most of the population of California. Including all the blue eyed light haired insane progressives.
Coming soon to America.
English and Spanish or face the music.
It’s already here……… “For Spanish press 1, for English press 2.”
For Go to Hell, press 3.
6 actually, but you need to press it 3 times.
Adult beverage spill..
I could not resists…..FBI meets Jackie Chan….
The airport building reminds me of the old Tocumen…
Side note:
Is Canada fatigue a thing?
Outrageous and tragic. Canada is lost.
Canadone.
Shoulda tried *pig latin*…. oink oink LOL
Redeem yourself Mr Rousseau (sarc): Issue your statement in FARSI
Carney…Mr Jobs Projects Investments Growth Careers Ideas and Future…..doing what he does best. Making a mountain out of a pimple. You Liberal Communists so deserve this moron. Did he create any jobs? Nope.
I flew Air Canada from Vancouver to NYC in 2002, took off and the pilot with a Midwestern American accent goes through the long talk to passengers, in English. I say to myself, the French version will be a hoot. It takes a couple of minutes, then a long pause, “and the same in French”.
Ah, the good ol’ days, back more than 20 yrs ago, when people had a sense of humor.
What’s next? All the old Dudley Do-Right cartoons must be redone in French?
Dudley didn’t even have the right English accent, eh?
Will He will replaced with a pink hatted woke Canadian who knows nothing of managing an airline and flying?
Yeah, but at least he/she/it will be politically correct ………. just saying!
strange that \Rousseau/ not speak French!
Pourquoi?
Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words will never hurt meBut lack of French words will make me resign
Sounds like Canada and Communist China will make great bedfellows….or bed comrades.
Bed subjects…?
Canada is run by the high school drama team.
Thank God Jim Carey speaks French.
When I think that the situation is beyond the pale in the US Government, i only need to look to the north. We are bad and getting better. The Canadians are bad and getting worse.
Shouldn’t Carney resign for letting the CCP into Canada?
Commie is an appropriate language
What an absurdity. Rousseau only speaks English. So how was he supposed to give his condolences in French??? The political ploy behind this is so obvious.
Michael Rousseau should move to a country that has an English speaking King.
Oh, wait, never mind.
I no speaka English
No franco
Quoi?
The snow Mexicans are clinically nuts.
What would have happened if he had delivered his message only in French and not also in English?
Absolutely nothing, and everybody in Canada is used to that.
Offense archaeologists everywhere only dig in one direction.
The irony of Canadians being subjects of England but required to speak White Flag.
Outrage from the Arabs Hindu Indians Africans Thais Vietnamese Africans and other perpetually offended activists.
In 2 years they will have to give an address in mandarin when the Chinese take over the Country.
Whaaaa, Whaaaa, Whaaaa, Le Pleurer Pleurer, Pleurer.
Canadians are so 2nd rate – it’s in their blood I guess.
I feel sorry for them – NOT!
Hey Canadians, See Ya – Wouldn’t want to be Ya!!!
And this is one of the problems of Canada.
Mark Carney needs Quebec votes. Americans that are 83% in favor of the Save America act are being silenced because Democrats need illegal alien votes. Same political BS, different countries.
The difference we elected President Trump in a landslide. Canada elected Communist Carney and Canada was much further down the rabbit hole than the US. I do not think Canada can be saved.
Our VSG, I’m almost sure, was doing his 51st state shtick in order for the few Canadians who may have voted for Polliever or whoever to pull the trigger for Carney.
Just to expose him for the weenie he is for the remainder of his term.
.
Canada, as a viable county is become more unserious by the day.
I think hypocrisy is the official policy
Canada is officially bilingual EXCEPT for Quebec, which is officially French only.
French is the sole official language of Quebec. Under the Charter of the French Language, it is the common language of the Quebec nation, governing work, education, commerce, and communication. Recent updates, such as Bill 96, have further strengthened the status of French. Légis Québec
+3
Key Details on Quebec’s Official Language Status:
Sole Official Language: Since 1974 and reinforced by the 1977 Charter of the French Language (Bill 101), French is the only official language.Government Services: Provincial government services must be provided in French.Workplace and Business: French is the normal, required language of business, commerce, and work.Bill 96 (2022): This Act further solidified the Charter, restricting the use of English in some public administration and legal contexts while requiring businesses to adhere strictly to French usage.On the plus side, the Province of Ontario is officially bilingual, which means that you have the right to have a trial in French even if you dont speak French.
A friend of mine got herself 2 speeding tickets, which would have resulted in her getting 6 points on her driver’s license (a big hit on insurance) and a $ 300 fine.
I requested the civil proceedings to be in French.
My friend does not speak French, so she would have needed an interpreter; the testifying cop, judge, etc didnt speak French either.
That put the hearing in front of a judge on hold for 2 years.The court eventually withdrew the charges.
Traffic court here in Ontario can be played because of the official bilingual policy.
It’s not my rules, but why not use their rules against them?
The Governor General of Canada is required to be bilingual, but the current serving Governor General only speaks English.
It’s rules for some and no rules for the politically connected, just like the USA
Mary Simon is the 30th and current Governor General of Canada, installed on July 26, 2021, as the first Indigenous person to hold the position.
As the federal representative of King Charles III, she acts as Canada’s head of state on his behalf, performing constitutional duties, appointing government officials,
With these surface oddities, the resignation of the Air Canada CEO for lack of sharing a message in French, the organ harvesting of people who asked for time to reconsider but not allowed to because the organs were already slated for other people to receive, the stories that now Canadians are going to be required to turn in their personally-owned firearms, one can only imagine the mess that is going on in the Canadian government behind the scenes.
There’s some serious stuff going on in Canada, a sense that there’s a powder keg waiting to erupt and just waiting for the one thing that will ignite it.
🙏 🙏 ‘s that whatever’s going on behind the scenes that common sense prevails.
CanaDUH embarasses itself daily.
My Mom was a Canadian from New Brunswick and was never a bi-linquist proponent.
She did, sadly, always une in a major British Monarchy event…weddings, inaugurals, deaths, other silly ceremonies.
No one was openly Gay then. So she would probably not have celebrated some of the disgusting things we have recently unearthed
I doubt today she would waste the channel turn.
She became a naturalized US citizen and we only visited Canada for 2 weeks of late August vacation on a remote lake.
Some of my best memories.
But then, I was 8 yrs old. So what the hell did I know ?
ADDENDUM:
At 8 years old , actually, I probably knew more about life than half+1 of the Canaduh current parliament.
Why are Canadians such easy subjects ? (Serfs)
….snow mexicans
Since when does a government official get to decide who works for a public corporation ? Oh wait; it’s Canadistan..just another oligarchy with a monarch, disguised as a democracy.
Canada, the true North Star, has lost its way.
And to think there was a Canadian division that landed at the beach next to Omaha.
What happened?
Liberalism. Now they could not fight their way out of a paper bag.
Thank you, President Trump.
Expose them all. Not allies. Not friends
Pierre Poilievre is French Canadian descent, his adoptive father is of Fransaskois Heritage. It’s a small French-speaking minority in Saskatchewan. Poilievre could replace Mark Carney.
They are lost already. This is not a surprise.
Dual language countries do not prosper or have longevity. Just sayin’
Luxembourg? Switzerland? Belgium? Canada’s about 500 years old Older than Germany 1871 or Italy 1866.
I think I would have responded by telling Carney would he could do with himself en francais.
Ha! You guys laugh but you will be facing Spanish language dictats in the near future. At least we have decades of dysfunctional linguistic torture as experience.
Spanish language!?
More than likely farsi or whatever the mooses speak.
Full-on nuts in Canada
He had committed to learn french as the same thing had happened in the past. Couldn’t say a word in french again and that was enough to get him.
Well, and he had to make a video. He couldn’t just have his PR/ marketing people issue a statement. And he obviously doesn’t listen to his PR/ marketing people anyway. And Air Canada is not noted for outstanding service, so maybe new leadership won’t hurt.
Should’ve put on some lipstick and wig and sashayed out to make the speech, he’d still have a job.
Planes, Trans, and Pedophiles
Things like this are why Canada is where it is.
This is hilarious! Delivered in English with French subtitles, and it’s still a firing offence? Canada is well and truly lost!
He should have read the French version in an atrocious accent. Some Québécois chauvinist should challenge Carney to say My name is Carney and I am the Premier of Canada
in French
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