Air Canada’s chief executive, Michael Rousseau, apologized on Thursday for expressing condolences only in English in a country that is officially bilingual after two of his airline’s pilots were killed on Sunday in a collision at LaGuardia Airport.
Politicians had called for Mr. Rousseau’s resignation after a four-minute condolence video posted online on Monday included only two French words, “bonjour” and “merci,” though subtitles were provided in both languages. Canada has two official languages, English and French.
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, on Wednesday said “we proudly live in a bilingual country, and companies like Air Canada, particularly, have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages regardless of the situation. I’m very disappointed.”
Hours after his apology, the National Assembly in Ottawa voted in favor of a motion calling for the resignation of Mr. Rousseau, saying that his inability to speak French showed a lack of respect for French-speaking Canadians.
The airline said on Thursday afternoon that Mr. Rousseau would remain in his position.
“I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada’s employees, who have demonstrated outstanding professionalism despite the events of the past few days,” Mr. Rousseau, a native English speaker, said in a statement.