As the investigation into the crash got under way in New York, days of backlash followed for Rousseau in Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney said it showed \u201ca lack of compassion.\u201d Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault said outright Rousseau should resign \u2014 Quebec\u2019s National Assembly ultimately voted 92-0 (with one abstention) in favour of a motion calling for his resignation.<\/p>\n
In response to a post Monday about the Air Canada chief\u2019s retirement, Musk wrote: \u201cThat\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many one-sided laws in Canada that mandate French at the expense of English,\u201d Musk wrote, adding: \u201cExtremely hypocritical and unfair!\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Musk, who was born in South Africa, settled in the U.S., he briefly emigrated to Canada in the late 1980s, reportedly arriving in Montreal. His mother, Maye, was born in Canada.<\/p>\n
Attached to Musk\u2019s post on Monday was linked query on Grok, the AI chatbot integrated into X, which Musk acquired in 2022, asking it to list French-language mandates in Canada and \u201chow this is hypocritical compared to no English mandate laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grok\u2019s lengthy response pointed to Quebec\u2019s Bill 96, requiring French in areas ranging from government services and workplace communications to signage, education and consumer contracts.<\/p>\n
It also referenced newer federal rules extending French-language rights in federally regulated businesses operating in Quebec.<\/p>\n
The expansion of language laws in Quebec has been driven by Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault\u2019s government, which has cited stronger language rules to protect French in the province.<\/p>\n
For Rousseau, it wasn\u2019t the first time his respect for the French language has been called into question<\/a>.<\/p>\n Back in 2021, when Rousseau took the helm at the airline, he admitted that he didn\u2019t speak French, despite having worked in the Montreal headquarters for over a decade. <\/p>\n According to Legault, he promised at the time that he would learn the language. But more controversy followed. <\/p>\n Later in 2021, Rousseau gave a largely English speech to a Montreal business audience that prompted anger from Quebec\u2019s politicians.<\/p>\n In 2022, he told a parliamentary committee that he was studying French intensively but was not yet comfortable using it under pressure.<\/p>\n Air Canada maintained to shareholders \u2013 between the years 2023 and 2025 \u2014 that he continued to work on the language .<\/p>\n With files from The Gazette\u2019s Jack Wilson.<\/p>\n Do you have a story tip? Write to me at hnorth@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n
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