Montreal (Canada) (AFP) – Air Canada named a French-speaking European as its new CEO on Wednesday, replacing Michael Rousseau, who announced his retirement following controversy over his English-only condolence message after a fatal airport disaster. Canada’s national carrier said Anko Van der Werff, currently the chief executive at Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), would take charge by the end of January 2027.
Van der Werff was chosen following “a comprehensive global search,” Air Canada said. “The search considered a number of performance criteria, including the ability to communicate in French,” it added. The incoming boss, who will also serve as president and sit on Air Canada’s board, said he was “mindful of the importance of serving Canadians in both official languages.”
“As a European, I understand the importance of language in identity,” he added in a separate message addressed to company employees. He said he had “the good fortune, like many Dutch people of his generation, to learn French at school.” Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision in March between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Canada has two official languages — English and French — and one of the pilots killed in the accident was from French-speaking Quebec province. Rousseau had issued an apology over his English-only message, regretting that he couldn’t express himself in French “despite many lessons over several years.” Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose occasionally halting French was discussed when he entered politics last year, also said at the time that he was “disappointed” by Rousseau’s unilingual message.
The fracas highlighted ongoing tensions surrounding the role of French in a majority English-speaking country. Less than a quarter (22 percent) of Canada’s population lists French as their first language, according to 2021 census data, with 76 percent naming English. In Quebec, 84 percent of the population say their first language is French. After Rousseau’s video was posted, Quebec’s provincial legislature passed a motion calling for his resignation. Air Canada is the country’s largest airline and is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. The company is required to offer services in both languages.
© 2024 AFP
