Michael Rousseau took more than 300 hours of French lessons after he became chief executive officer of Air Canada. But when he faced the camera to read a solemn statement after a fatal ground collision in New York last week, he uttered only two words in the language: “bonjour” and “merci.”
His video had subtitles, and he said he didn’t speak French because he didn’t want to risk offending anyone with an error or insensitive remarks.
But within a week, the resulting furor over the monolingual condolences prompted an announcement of Rousseau’s retirement. Even Prime Minister Mark Carney, ...
