Air Canada CEO stepping down after backlash to LaGuardia Airport crash comments

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Air Canada CEO stepping down after backlash to LaGuardia Airport crash comments
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Michael Rousseau had faced criticism over an English-only condolence message after a deadly crash this month at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

Michael Rousseau had faced criticism over an English-only condolence message after a deadly crash this month at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.At LaGuardia Airport, planes are once again landing on the runway where a plane crashed into a fire truck Sunday night.

The first flights landed late Thursday morning on the runway, which reopened ahead of schedule. NBC New York’s Jessica Cunnington reports. Air Canada announced Monday its CEO will retire later this year, after Michael Rousseau was criticized for his English-only message of condolence following Canada’s largest airline, based in French-speaking Quebec, said Rousseau told the board he will leave by the end of the third quarter. Canada is an officially bilingual nation, and Prime Minister Mark Carney had said the English-only message showed a lack of compassion and judgment. Quebec’s premier and others called on the airline executive to resign.in the crash at LaGuardia Airport, was a French-speaking Quebecer. Forest and Mackenzie Gunther died when the Air Canada Jazz flight from Montreal collided with a fire truck on the runway shortly after landing. Air Canada confirmed six people were still in the hospital Tuesday evening as a result of the runway crash at LaGuardia Airport. The NTSB is looking into why there was no warning leading up to the deadly crash. NBC New York's Andrew Siff reports. Canada’s largest airline is headquartered in Montreal. Rousseau previously had been criticized for not speaking French. He delivered his condolence video message in English, with French subtitles. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages has received hundreds of complaints about it. Steven MacKinnon, Canada’s transport minister, thanked Rousseau in a social media post and said the government will continue to work closely with Air Canada to ensure it"provides safe, reliable, affordable, and bilingual service to all Canadians.” Quebec Premier François Legault noted that when Rousseau was appointed president of the airline in February 2021, he promised to learn French. Quebec’s identity has been contentious since the 1760s, when the British completed their takeover of what was then called New France. Quebec is about 80% French-speaking.

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