Air Canada to review French policies as CEO begins private instruction

Air Canada says its chief executive has already started French lessons, just days after public remarks that sparked a backlash over his inability to speak Quebec's common tongue — and official language.

In a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, chairman Vagn Sorensen said CEO Michael Rousseau has already begun what the board head called "intensive learning of French."

"This is not just a personal commitment on his part, but an element that will be an integral part of his performance evaluation,'' Sorensen wrote in French.

Rousseau also said in a letter — in French — to employees that he has started courses with a private tutor.

Following a speech almost entirely in English to the Montreal chamber of commerce last week, the CEO told reporters he did not need to learn French to get by in Montreal, words that sparked immediate and widespread backlash and for which he apologized the next day.

He reiterated that apology to Air Canada's 27,000 employees Tuesday, saying his remarks should have shown "more sensitivity regarding the importance of speaking French in Quebec'' and that they do not reflect his values.

He also announced he has given the company's chief commercial officer and its head of human resources a "mandate to review and strengthen'' its official languages practices.

On Monday, Freeland asked Air Canada's board of directors to make French communication a key criterion for senior management and incorporate improvement in Rousseau's French abilities into his annual evaluation.

In his reply, the chairman said he accepts all of Freeland's recommendations, agreeing to review French proficiency requirements for a broader swath of senior positions and to assess company-wide policies around the use of French at the board's next governance committee meeting.

Executive headhunter Roger Duguay says stronger French-language standards at large Quebec companies would not significantly narrow their candidate pool or harm performance.

"It would have almost zero effect on the pool of candidates going there or refusing to come forward if we asked them, 'So would you mind if you come in and take a few French lessons and improve it and show that you care?''' Duguay, a managing partner at Boyden Canada, said in an interview.

"They all want to speak a little bit of the local language.''

Requiring top management to have a grasp of French — though not a mastery of it — is a feasible threshold for big corporations headquartered in the Montreal area to meet, he added.

A demonstration in defence of French is slated for next Saturday in front of Air Canada's headquarters near the Montreal airport.

"We are going to Air Canada to remind them that they have not respected their own 2020-2023 linguistic action plan,'' Marie-Anne Alepin, president of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, said in an interview in French.

The plan states that Air Canada is "proud to offer services in both official languages and demonstrate true leadership among major Canadian companies in promoting bilingualism."