Mark Carney criticizes Air Canada for its English-only condolence message after LaGuardia crash Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned Air Canada’s decision to issue a condolence message in English only following the fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport, calling it a “lack of compassion.” The incident, which killed two of the airline’s pilots, including 30-year-old Antoine Forest, a French-speaking resident of Quebec, has sparked widespread criticism over the company’s failure to acknowledge Canada’s bilingual identity. Carney emphasized that as a bilingual country, Air Canada, as a major Canadian corporation, has a duty to communicate in both English and French. The CEO, Michael Rousseau, faced backlash for releasing the message in English only, despite the fact that one of the deceased pilots was from French-speaking Quebec. Rousseau, who has been criticized in the past for his limited French proficiency, was summoned to Ottawa to explain his decision. The parliamentary Committee on Official Languages also demanded he address the issue, stating the message violated the Official Languages Act and public expectations. The crash occurred on Sunday night when an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport shortly after landing from Montreal. Dozens of passengers were injured, with six still hospitalized. Rousseau’s message, which was released in English, drew sharp criticism from political figures, including Quebec Premier François Legault, who called for Rousseau’s resignation if he could not meet French language requirements. Rousseau, an anglophone living in Montreal, has faced scrutiny since his 2021 appointment as CEO. His past comments about not learning French despite living in Quebec for over a decade drew criticism.#mark_carney #la_guardia_airport #air_canada #michael_rousseau #francois_legault
