Parlez vous le 'spy talk'?

[ALPApolicy]

I'm an anglophone who bounced around the country as the child of a military pilot and one of those destinations was Quebec in the early 70's and another was New Brunswick in the early 80's. I didn't really learn to speak and read French until I left high school. I find it very sad that the current AC CEO didn't avail himself of the opportunity to learn French while he lived in Montreal. I'm an avowed francophile and a Quebecophile as well. Although I work for the number 2 airline in Canada that has no bilingual mandate, I do think that The AC CEO should really have done better.

[rudder]

I'm an anglophone who bounced around the country as the child of a military pilot and one of those destinations was Quebec in the early 70's and another was New Brunswick in the early 80's. I didn't really learn to speak and read French until I left high school. I find it very sad that the current AC CEO didn't avail himself of the opportunity to learn French while he lived in Montreal. I'm an avowed francophile and a Quebecophile as well. Although I work for the number 2 airline in Canada that has no bilingual mandate, I do think that The AC CEO should really have done better.

Are you under the impression that the AC CEO is in any way a ‘political’ position?

I have news for you - it is not, regardless of what JT and CF think. The AC CEO is accountable to the AC BOD and no one else. AC has met all of its obligations under the ACPPA and the COVID loan agreement from the Feds. You don’t get to add conditions after the fact.

AC is a private corporation that is owned and controlled by its shareholders. By virtue of the COVID loan agreement, the federal government is a temporary minority shareholder.

[Inverted2]

I'm an anglophone who bounced around the country as the child of a military pilot and one of those destinations was Quebec in the early 70's and another was New Brunswick in the early 80's. I didn't really learn to speak and read French until I left high school. I find it very sad that the current AC CEO didn't avail himself of the opportunity to learn French while he lived in Montreal. I'm an avowed francophile and a Quebecophile as well. Although I work for the number 2 airline in Canada that has no bilingual mandate, I do think that The AC CEO should really have done better.

Are you under the impression that the AC CEO is in any way a ‘political’ position?

I have news for you - it is not, regardless of what JT and CF think. The AC CEO is accountable to the AC BOD and no one else. AC has met all of its obligations under the ACPPA and the COVID loan agreement from the Feds. You don’t get to add conditions after the fact.

AC is a private corporation that is owned and controlled by its shareholders. By virtue of the COVID loan agreement, the federal government is a temporary minority shareholder.

All true in the normal world, but not in the “nation of Quebec” where language politics goes above all the real issues.....

[rudder]

I'm an anglophone who bounced around the country as the child of a military pilot and one of those destinations was Quebec in the early 70's and another was New Brunswick in the early 80's. I didn't really learn to speak and read French until I left high school. I find it very sad that the current AC CEO didn't avail himself of the opportunity to learn French while he lived in Montreal. I'm an avowed francophile and a Quebecophile as well. Although I work for the number 2 airline in Canada that has no bilingual mandate, I do think that The AC CEO should really have done better.

Are you under the impression that the AC CEO is in any way a ‘political’ position?

I have news for you - it is not, regardless of what JT and CF think. The AC CEO is accountable to the AC BOD and no one else. AC has met all of its obligations under the ACPPA and the COVID loan agreement from the Feds. You don’t get to add conditions after the fact.

AC is a private corporation that is owned and controlled by its shareholders. By virtue of the COVID loan agreement, the federal government is a temporary minority shareholder.

All true in the normal world, but not in the “nation of Quebec” where language politics goes above all the real issues.....

Since privatization, AC has had not one, not two, but THREE American CEO’s. The horror!

Just having a CDN as CEO of AC should be seen as good enough.

[ALPApolicy]

I'm an anglophone who bounced around the country as the child of a military pilot and one of those destinations was Quebec in the early 70's and another was New Brunswick in the early 80's. I didn't really learn to speak and read French until I left high school. I find it very sad that the current AC CEO didn't avail himself of the opportunity to learn French while he lived in Montreal. I'm an avowed francophile and a Quebecophile as well. Although I work for the number 2 airline in Canada that has no bilingual mandate, I do think that The AC CEO should really have done better.

Are you under the impression that the AC CEO is in any way a ‘political’ position?

I have news for you - it is not, regardless of what JT and CF think. The AC CEO is accountable to the AC BOD and no one else. AC has met all of its obligations under the ACPPA and the COVID loan agreement from the Feds. You don’t get to add conditions after the fact.

AC is a private corporation that is owned and controlled by its shareholders. By virtue of the COVID loan agreement, the federal government is a temporary minority shareholder.

I think what I said is that it is disappointing that he did not avail himself of the opportunity to learn French. Did you understand something different?

[Transition9er2]

Again, tell me if our new Governor General speaks French.

A federal position appointed by our Prime Minister none the less.

Can’t believe the Liberals are going down this road… hypochondriacal much?

[TeePeeCreeper]

Again, tell me if our new Governor General speaks French.

A federal position appointed by our Prime Minister non the less.

Can’t believe the Liberals are going down this road… hypochondriacal much?

Allow me to leave the above post quoted for posterity.

TPC

[Counterpoint]

This MR answer to a reporter’s question was nothing short of a PR disaster.

It has nothing to do with the GG’s ability or speak French (she has more sense than to have said anything like what MR did) government money or even the French fact in Quebec.

This has to do with the way he answered the question and the actual answer itself. You can’t say you've lived in Montreal for 14 years, never bothered to try to learn French and say you don’t have time (meaning the bother) to learn French. Whether you can live your work/leisure life without French in Montreal is beside the point.

Some things are better left alone if you don’t understand what French means to Quebecers. MR should have just have said something else than arrogantly saying something he shouldn’t have. The fact that he didn't understand how his answer at the time shows a bit of ignorance for someone who Quebecers think should have understood how offensive his answer was. That translates into arrogance which is a PR consultant’s nightmare.

He apologized, but the fire was lit. His legacy is set in Quebec and I’m sure the AC PR consultant will have to manage his image (including some French lessons) to get this image changed.

Think about it for just a moment, would you as a polite Canadian answer the question he was asked the way he did ? I doubt it and as anybody who has lived in Montreal for more than a few days would know, he couldn’t have been more rude if he tried. He embarrassed the board of directors and the event hosts who I’m sure expected more from him. His actual coming out speech was just okay.

It’s an unfortunate misstep from someone who should have known better, particularly after being warned about it.

[Old fella]

This MR answer to a reporter’s question was nothing short of a PR disaster.

It has nothing to do with the GG’s ability or speak French (she has more sense than to have said anything like what MR did) government money or even the French fact in Quebec.

This has to do with the way he answered the question and the actual answer itself. You can’t say you've lived in Montreal for 14 years, never bothered to try to learn French and say you don’t have time (meaning the bother) to learn French. Whether you can live your work/leisure life without French in Montreal is beside the point.

Some things are better left alone if you don’t understand what French means to Quebecers. MR should have just have said something else than arrogantly saying something he shouldn’t have. The fact that he didn't understand how his answer at the time shows a bit of ignorance for someone who Quebecers think should have understood how offensive his answer was. That translates into arrogance which is a PR consultant’s nightmare.

He apologized, but the fire was lit. His legacy is set in Quebec and I’m sure the AC PR consultant will have to manage his image (including some French lessons) to get this image changed.

Think about it for just a moment, would you as a polite Canadian answer the question he was asked the way he did ? I doubt it and as anybody who has lived in Montreal for more than a few days would know, he couldn’t have been more rude if he tried. He embarrassed the board of directors and the event hosts who I’m sure expected more from him. His actual coming out speech was just okay.

It’s an unfortunate misstep from someone who should have known better, particularly after being warned about it.

Good points and in my view, accurate. I am old enough to remember The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism which started mid’60s and ended ‘69 with The Official Language act making Canada an official bilingual country. The arguments and fallout exists to this very day from certain demographics and political persuasions, yes Quebec had legitimate grievances on language/education/business and still does aka current thread. In my view the AC CEO was insensitive in his commentary as his airline is headquartered in Montreal in a unilingual Province.

[Transition9er2]

I’m sorry, I just don’t get the argument here.

You’re saying that because Air Canada is headquartered in Montreal, and MR lived there for 14 years, he “must” learn to speak French. The Governor General (The Commander-In-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces) on the other hand gets a pass on speaking French because she can answer questions on “why” she doesn’t speak French a lot better than MR can??

I’m sorry, but I find this entire thread just silly. It’s literally starting an argument for the sake of starting an argument.

Today being Remembrance Day (something that’s actually important) “Thank You” to all our Veterans, past and present. I’ll be putting my thoughts and energy into what the meaning of today is all about.

T.

[altiplano]

Oh counterpoint... Quebec and Quebecers... centre of the universe... so fragile... so special... we all need kid gloves to handle you.

Rousseau was offensive? Arrogant? No. Treating and embarrassing someone, a guest speaker, the way they did, that's rude, that's arrogance.

Everyone wasn't raised with the circumstance of being able to master 2 languages early in life. Workload, professional obligations, and personal responsibilities for most people throughout adult life make it completely unrealistic for the majority of people.

Maybe Quebec should leave Canada if that's the way you feel about people from other backgrounds, if you're so offended that everyone isn't just like you. Pay your debt on the way out the door and go be special the way you see fit.

[TG]

Maybe Quebec should leave Canada if that's the way you feel about people from other backgrounds, if you're so offended that everyone isn't just like you.

In this story, it is absolutely not about "Everyone has to be like you" (Aka speaking le Français) But simply about "Respect"

French 101: The word respect in French is...Respect!
Same thing

[altiplano]

Maybe Quebec should leave Canada if that's the way you feel about people from other backgrounds, if you're so offended that everyone isn't just like you.

In this story, it is absolutely not about "Everyone has to be like you" (Aka speaking le Français) But simply about "Respect"

French 101: The word respect in French is...Respect!
Same thing

So because someone doesn't speak a language they are disrespecting you?

Fragile.

[eyebrow737]

Maybe Quebec should leave Canada if that's the way you feel about people from other backgrounds, if you're so offended that everyone isn't just like you.

In this story, it is absolutely not about "Everyone has to be like you" (Aka speaking le Français) But simply about "Respect"

French 101: The word respect in French is...Respect!
Same thing

Maybe Quebec should RESPECT other people speaking one of Canada's official Languages in Canada. No one should have to defend their right to speak in the official language of their choice.

[Inverted2]

Again, tell me if our new Governor General speaks French.

A federal position appointed by our Prime Minister none the less.

Can’t believe the Liberals are going down this road… hypochondriacal much?

Well Trudy hasn’t exactly had a good track record picking GG’s. Remember the Space B!tch?

[TG]

Maybe Quebec should leave Canada if that's the way you feel about people from other backgrounds, if you're so offended that everyone isn't just like you.

In this story, it is absolutely not about "Everyone has to be like you" (Aka speaking le Français) But simply about "Respect"

French 101: The word respect in French is...Respect!
Same thing

So because someone doesn't speak a language they are disrespecting you?

Fragile.

Not at all, again you are generalizing. We are referring to a single person here who spent 14 years in a place not learning the very basics of a local language (And nobody is asking him to be fluent with it)
Like you, I don’t care if a guy deep down in Alberta doesn’t know how to say hello in a second language.

[Counterpoint]

Oh counterpoint... Quebec and Quebecers... centre of the universe... so fragile... so special... we all need kid gloves to handle you.

Rousseau was offensive? Arrogant? No. Treating and embarrassing someone, a guest speaker, the way they did, that's rude, that's arrogance.

Everyone wasn't raised with the circumstance of being able to master 2 languages early in life. Workload, professional obligations, and personal responsibilities for most people throughout adult life make it completely unrealistic for the majority of people.

Maybe Quebec should leave Canada if that's the way you feel about people from other backgrounds, if you're so offended that everyone isn't just like you. Pay your debt on the way out the door and go be special the way you see fit.

Bonjour Altiplano,

MR could have answered exactly the same way he did in French and the arrogance and rudeness only someone from this part of the Canada would understand.

You aren’t from Quebec, you don’t live in Quebec, those that are from or live in Quebec do understand. Even unilingual anglophones understand politeness in Quebec when it comes to language. He should have known better, every other person Franco or Anglo in Montreal has figured it out.

It isn’t the language of French, or the ability to live a normal daily or professional life without the ability of speaking French which is at issue here. Try and understand what Quebecers are upset about. As I mentioned previously, would you have answered that way in Montreal ?

I notice you call yourself a “disagreeable non-conformist”

Case in point: are you off work for no-vax, at work with an allowance for no-vax or at work and vaxed ?

[eyebrow737]

You aren’t from Quebec, you don’t live in Quebec, those that are from or live in Quebec do understand. Even unilingual anglophones understand politeness in Quebec when it comes to language. He should have known better, every other person Franco or Anglo in Montreal has figured it out.

Counterpoint. I'm not from Quebec, but I live in Quebec. neither French nor English is my first Language. However I do live in Canada where both English and Canada are official languages. I have lived all over the world and have never encountered such arrogance as the French display here.

Who cares if an Anglo doesn't speak French? No where else have I seen such hate and anger as the French display towards English speakers. They have bought in laws that FORCE people to use a different language (from a countries official language no less). Where else do you see this in Canada? Laws forcing a person to use English.

If you speak French somewhere else in Canada, you will just be ignored at the very worst. Here in Quebec you will be shouted at, ridiculed or the police will be called at the very worst. No, it is Quebecers that should try to understand how the Anglos feel. This is from a third party who is not Anglo or French.

The fact of matter is the French here are bullies who use language as a weapon against their fellow countrymen who have bent over backwards to try to make them feel valued.

[Counterpoint]

If you aren’t from Quebec and are an allophone living in Quebec, or an Anglophone living in Canada, then perhaps you might try and get a perspective from a generation of Francophones living in Quebec, that were raised, educated, and worked in the pre-Révolution Tranquille era.

That perspective will garner you some background of why Quebecers are miffed at the remarks made by MR.

Understanding is a much better way of showing respect. No ?

There are some things you don’t say out loud in Quebec because you know it isn’t just about language. That is where MR failed, he embarrassed himself and is now facing the prospect of learning a new language (recently announced) in order to make amends for which he has already apologized for.

He should have known better.

[eyebrow737]

If you aren’t from Quebec and are an allophone living in Quebec, or an Anglophone living in Canada, then perhaps you might try and get a perspective from a generation of Francophones living in Quebec, that were raised, educated, and worked in the pre-Révolution Tranquille era.

That perspective will garner you some background of why Quebecers are miffed at the remarks made by MR.

Understanding is a much better way of showing respect. No ?

There are some things you don’t say out loud in Quebec because you know it isn’t just about language. That is where MR failed, he embarrassed himself and is now facing the prospect of learning a new language (recently announced) in order to make amends for which he had already apologized for.

He should have known better.

I am surrounded by that perspective everyday. Understanding does not mean that I have to sympathize with your thoughts nor does it mean that I have to respect your thoughts. I know the history of Quebec as well as any Quebecer.

And frankly I find the term allophone offensive. I am a Canadian now. Your divisiveness by sub labelling groups even when you talk about respect shows that your lack of understanding of the others around you is not beyond reproach.

You ask for others to understand your viewpoint but no where have you tried to understand other Canadians view points. It's always just about the French isn't it?

The Quebec people unfortunately will only understand this when it is too late. They are alienating themselves against more that just the majority of the country they live in