By Raymond Viger
Who is the best goaltender to preserve Francophone Canada?
Air Canada is a company that is legally obliged to offer its services in both French and English, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages .
Journalist Jean-Louis Bordeleau, writing in Le Devoir, notes the controversial comments made by Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau on November 3rd, 2021, less than a year after his hiring: “I’ve been able to live in Montreal without speaking French, and I think that’s a testament to the city of Montreal.”
The first irritant: “That’s a testament to the city of Montreal.” Is it a testament to Montreal, or is it a condemnation, because the Canadian government doesn’t respect Air Canada’s bilingualism obligations?
The second irritant: Gérald Fillion, Radio-Canada journalist, tells us that Michael Rousseau’s salary exceeds $12 million a year. The QMI agency cites Mario Dumont, who tells us that Mr. Rousseau has taken 300 hours of French courses and is still incapable of speaking French. Can we say that Rousseau has a learning disability? If that’s the case, can we accept paying someone with a learning disability $12 million a year?
The third irritant: Chantal Hébert, during an interview on ICI RDI, questions why our dear Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer seems to be incapable of reading French off a teleprompter. Is Mr. Rousseau illiterate? We can question the enormous salary earned by someone with that disability. I will go even further in my disappointment. In a past life, to export Quebec furniture to Japan, I received a delegation at my store. Despite my severe dyslexia, I learned a welcome message in Japanese. If I, an underpaid dyslexic, can succeed in that tour de force, I expect even more glorious exploits from Mr. Rousseau.
What about Ken Dryden?
For they younger generation that didn’t know him, Ken Dryden, a lawyer, was the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender for six Stanley Cup victories in the 1970s. He was also Canada’s goalkeeper during the Summit Series against the Soviet Union. He received many honors during his lifetime.
In 2004 he went into politics and was named Minister of Social Development. And that did this Anglophone do when he got into politics? He took French immersion courses. He met with Francophone community groups to practice his French. I had the honor of being one of his teachers. He spent the day listening to me speak French and asked me intelligent questions, showing that he had understood what I said.
If all the Anglophones in positions of authority had the same sensitivity as Ken Dryden, bilingualism in Canada would be in far better shape.
You may ask, why am I contrasting Michael Rousseau with Ken Dryden? My mother taught me to start off by saying something nice about someone before criticizing them. Incapable of finding something positive to say about Michael Rousseau, I used Ken Dryden to not disobey my mother.
Thank you, Mr. Dryden, for your presence, which we miss, and for your support of the French language in Canada.
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