Ottawa | Carrier Air Canada does not want to sign up for the Office québécois de la langue française’s franchising program, preferring to wait for the swift adoption of a federal reform of official languages that would allow it to bypass Act 101.
• Read more: OQLF is concerned about the decline of the French language
• Read more: Air Canada: More than 2,000 complaints over Michael Russo’s speech
• Read more: Caisse depot et placement requires employers to speak French
Large businesses with 50 or more federal employees have until December 1 to register with the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) under new requirements resulting from the French language reform.
However, Air Canada, but not Canadian Pacific, Canadian National or VIA Rail, is yet to be registered with the OQLF, its spokesperson said.
Quebec and Ottawa have been embroiled in a long-running battle over official languages, forcing businesses under federal jurisdiction to choose sides.
The Legault government wants to subject them to the new Law 101 so that it applies to everyone in Quebec. For its part, the Trudeau government wants to prevent Quebec from imposing its will by keeping it in the federal fold.
Air Canada and others seem to have chosen their camp: Ottawa.
For Bloc Québécois Mario Beaulieu, Quebec’s language regime should take priority because the Liberal reform “reinforces bilingualism” and not French.
“One of the main factors in the Anglicization of Quebec is the Official Languages Act. I don’t think it will go this way,” he said in an interview.
For its part, Air Canada declares that it is “already subject to the Official Languages Act, and is responsible for ensuring that its linguistic obligations are implemented on a day-to-day basis.”
Same for everyone
The Canadian carrier wants “a uniform and coherent system” so that its linguistic duties are shared with all airlines, according to its lobbyists.
This is not the first time the carrier has been talked about in terms of language. Remember when Air Canada president and CEO Michel Rousseau raised an outcry in Quebec. November 3, 2021 Although he lived in Quebec for 14 years, he said he never felt compelled to learn French to communicate.
As of last Friday, only about a hundred companies had registered for the franchise process before the deadline set with the OQLF.
A dozen others have indicated they want to wait until federal reform is adopted before proceeding.
“Music geek. Coffee lover. Devoted food scholar. Web buff. Passionate internet guru.”
