Canada's official languages commissioner has rebuked Air Canada's outgoing CEO after he delivered condolences for a deadly New York plane crash almost entirely in English.
A condolence message chooses who it comforts. In a bilingual country, from its flag carrier, English-only mourning tells French Canada its grief ranks second.
Air Canada has a long rap sheet on this file. Each incident restarts the same debate: is bilingualism a duty or decor? The commissioner keeps answering: duty.
Sources: CBC News. Context from the Young Hadene newsroom.
The CEO's crash condolences ran almost entirely in English.
Commissioner Kelly Burke, citing official-languages duties.