Official Languages

The committee met to study the use of French in Air Canada communications, hearing from Vagn Sorensen, chair of the board of directors, and David Rheault, vice-president of government and community relations. Sorensen appeared by video conference and delivered opening remarks in both official languages, noting that neither is his first language.

Sorensen said the Official Languages Act has applied to Air Canada for over 50 years and that the board treats official languages as part of the company's identity, adding that all carriers should be held to the same standard. He cited a linguistic action plan, more than 5,000 bilingual hires since 2022, roughly 50 per cent of customer-facing employees qualified as bilingual and 65 per cent with abilities in both languages, mandatory awareness training completed by 97 per cent of those employees, and a decline in complaints to 85 in 2024-25. He said the board made French a criterion in its CEO search and hired Anko van der Werff, who will be based in Montreal and can communicate in both languages, and he committed that future CEOs would be bilingual.

Questioned about the former CEO's comment that he never needed to speak French in Montreal and about the pre-recorded English condolence video with French subtitles after the March 22 accident, Sorensen said he and the board were very disappointed, that Rousseau committed to intensive French training of more than 300 lessons but could not achieve the desired result, and that the video was an error in judgment made under urgency. He defended Rousseau's pandemic-era hiring and his compensation, saying pay was largely variable and tied to company and personal performance, and said the emergency procedure otherwise worked, including bilingual support sent to the accident site. He said board meetings are held in English with translation available, that seven of thirteen directors have some French proficiency including three native speakers, and that he lives in Denmark and visits Canada six or seven times a year.

Rheault provided operational detail, saying Air Canada offers 25,000 to 30,000 hours of language classes a year to about 700 employees, focused on public-facing staff, with courses also used for requalification where French is hard to practise, such as western Canada. He described four proficiency levels, with level 3 considered bilingual because the employee can translate an unscheduled onboard announcement live, level 2 able to serve but not qualified, and bilingual staffing counted only at level 3 or higher. He gave an example of implementing a commissioner's recommendation that employees involved in service complaints redo official languages awareness training.

Members pressed Sorensen on why the board did not dismiss Rousseau, on whether French is treated as an equal rather than one of many languages, and on a July 7 report that crews were invited to use cellphone translation apps. Sorensen said he was unfamiliar with that article but committed to read it and comment, disputed the premise that French is not respected, and pointed to reduced complaints. Asked about the commissioner's July 2026 recommendation for an impact analysis after Montreal–Bathurst service ended, he said route decisions are management's and that the recommendation is under internal review, while maintaining that statutory notice and consultation obligations under the Canada Transportation Act were met; the member noted he meant Part VII of the Official Languages Act. Sorensen also said a summer reduction in bilingual flight attendants on some international flights was temporary, driven by hiring and aircraft delivery delays, and rejected any suggestion of safety risk.

The chair closed with remarks of his own, telling Sorensen that Air Canada's flag-carrier status brings privileges such as protected domestic market position and past government support, and that it carries responsibilities including official language service, reasonable prices, reliable service, regional connectivity and appearing before committees. He asked Sorensen to take members' comments back and address them before any future appearance. The meeting then suspended and continued in camera.