[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Zoupa]

You'd have a certain backlash if the CEOs of 90%+ Canadian companies only spoke Swahili, 5% spoke Swahili and garbled English, and the other 5% spoke Swahili and decent English.

It's always the same arguments with Anglophones. Shouldn't a leader of a national company be an example?

[HVC]

Can I still get service in English at the Swahili company?


*edit* my view is no doubt shaded by the fact I speak the dominant global language, but I really wouldn't care. As long as I could still get service in a language I understand, I don't care what the management speaks.

[Habbaku]

You'd have a certain backlash if the CEOs of 90%+ Canadian companies only spoke Swahili, 5% spoke Swahili and garbled English, and the other 5% spoke Swahili and decent English.

It's always the same arguments with Anglophones. Shouldn't a leader of a national company be an example?

Should every national company in Canada be headed by a bilingual CEO?

[crazy canuck]

I'm pretty sure none of this made any headlines in the ROC, so here's example #289592 of Canada's disregard for francophones:

Actually this has been the subject of a number of articles in the Globe and Mail.  Here is the latest from a few hours ago https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-freeland-tells-air-canada-that-learning-french-should-be-part-of-ceo/

Should every national company in Canada be headed by a bilingual CEO?

Air Canada is a special case.  Not only is it federally regulated but Canada is also the largest shareholder.  It was also, in the time before time, essentially a Crown Corporation.  Every CEO in the past has been fluently bilingual.  It is surprising that they picked someone who isnt.

[viper37]

But what does it matter what language the Ceo speaks?

Air Canada CEO, subject to official language act, with an abysmal track record on it.
Air Canada's HQ is located in Montreal. Qc.  World's second most populous French city.
His mother is French-speaking.  His wife is French-speaking.  He lives on Montreal's south shore (mostly French speaking area, unlike Montreal's West-Island) and has been for the last 14 years.

It's not Weston's CEO (owner of IGA brand of grocery stores in Quebec).  It ain't even BCE.  It's Air Canada.  That matters.  His attitude, even criticized by the CBC, which you can't accuse of a radical separatist agenda, was tone deaf, borderline insulting.


This is the company that has a habit of expelling its clients who dare asked to be spoken to in French.  Yeah, I say it matters that the CEO is not bilingual and does not care at all about learning French.

[Grey Fox]

Air Canada has had nothing but contempt for any one that isn't an anglo saxon Canadian for decades now. One more nail in the coffin. Should divest the company.

[Barrister]

The idea that a privatized Air Canada is subject to the Official Languages Act is a ridiculous holdover from when the company was a Crown corporation.

Zoupa, the story did in fact get coverage in english Canada.

[Zoupa]

The idea of getting on a domestic flight and not getting service in your national language is quite frankly ridiculous. I'm not sure what's so hard to understand.

[Josephus]

This was the mid 90s and I'd have been... 10? So unfortunately no lol

What were you doing in a bar at age 10? 

[Grey Fox]

This was the mid 90s and I'd have been... 10? So unfortunately no lol

What were you doing in a bar at age 10? 

He mentioned it, he lived there.

[HVC]

This was the mid 90s and I'd have been... 10? So unfortunately no lol

What were you doing in a bar at age 10? 

He mentioned it, he lived there.

Haha, i didn't live there, but i did spend a lot of time there since my parents owned it (at the time minors were allowed in bars until 9 in Hamilton). Became really good at pool.

[crazy canuck]

If anyone is still reading my posts, I set out other reasons why it is makes good sense for the CEO of Air Canada to be bilingual earlier.

Of course one could try to ignore its history, government financial support (both past and present), role of being a national carrier etc etc etc.  But I am not sure that would be wise.

[Jacob]

Yeah this was reported in English media a little while ago. My initial reaction was along the lines of what I've seen here... "so what, leave the guy alone." I am particularly unsympathetic to the notion that it's an "insult" for someone to live in Montreal and not speak French.

But as per CC's argument I've come around to recognizing that it matters for the CEO of Air Canada. I agree that Air Canada's CEO should be bilingual. As such, AC should've appointed a bilingual CEO or, if not, the CEO should be making a solid effort to learn French upon getting the job.

[Jacob]

How concerned are you all by inflation? How big of a political issue do you think it is?

As I understand it, the Bank of Canada views the current inflation as being driven by supply constraints due to Covid and expect it to level off within about a year. If that is correct, it doesn't seem to provide much scope for political action (though of course that won't stop it from being used as political ammunition in different ways).

[Barrister]

How concerned are you all by inflation? How big of a political issue do you think it is?

As I understand it, the Bank of Canada views the current inflation as being driven by supply constraints due to Covid and expect it to level off within about a year. If that is correct, it doesn't seem to provide much scope for political action (though of course that won't stop it from being used as political ammunition in different ways).

Absolutely concerned.  We'll see how much of an issue it is.

Some of it is certainly supply constraints.  We've been dealing with these for the entire pandemic (remember when you couldn't buy, oh, yeast?).

But governments dumped a massive amount of money on Canadians in the form of pandemic relief, and we continue to deficit spend at an alarming rate.  That too could cause more systemic inflation.