Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau to retire later this year following
Air Canada president and CEO Michael Rousseau will retire sometime in the fall after nearly two decades with the airline, it said on Monday, a week after he made headlines by issuing an English-only message of condolence following the deadly crash of Flight 8646 in New York.
“Mr. Rousseau has reached a natural retirement age. His decision is consistent with the Board’s longstanding focus on CEO executive succession planning,” a process that has been underway for more than two years internally, an airline spokesperson told CBC News in a statement.
In an internal note to employees obtained by Radio-Canada, Rousseau said he was proud to have worn the airline’s emblem over his heart, but that time had come for him to retire. He will lead the company and serve on its board of directors until the end of the third quarter, he said.
Air Canada Flight 8646 departed from Montreal and collided with a fire truck upon landing at LaGuardia airport on March 22, killing two pilots — first officer Mackenzie Gunther and Capt. Antoine Forest — and injuring dozens of others.
Rousseau expressed condolences for the victims’ families in a video the next day. But he was quickly condemned for delivering the subtitled message almost entirely in English (aside from beginning with “bonjour” and ending with “merci”).
One of the pilots, Forest, was a francophone from Coteau-du-Lac, Que. Air Canada itself is headquartered in Montreal and the company’s own policy requires employees to be able to communicate in both of Canada’s official languages.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter, after nearly two decades with the airline, the company said on Monday. The announcement comes a week after he made headlines for speaking only English in a message of condolence following the crash of Flight 8646 in New York.
CEO’s lack of French sparked debate
Politicians of all stripes at both the federal and provincial level quickly weighed in.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Rousseau’s message showed “a lack of judgment” and “compassion,” while Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said it demonstrated a “sad and gross lack of respect” for Forest’s family.
Quebec Premier François Legault called for Rousseau’s resignation, and the Quebec National Assembly introduced a motion calling for his resignation.
Meanwhile, former Alberta premier Jason Kenney was among those who defended Rousseau, saying the executive’s time would be better spent on safety and reliability of services than language training.
Rousseau followed up with an apology on Thursday, saying he was “deeply saddened” that his “inability to speak French” had distracted from the mourning families’ grief. He added that, despite many years of lessons, he is still unable to “adequately” express himself in French — an apology that many said missed the mark.
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