Law Suit about lack of French Language Services
Thread Starter
Law Suit about lack of French Language Services
Good Afternoon All:
Just when you thought the "silly season" was over and we could watch the Stanley Cup in peace this one comes back.
I might add one of the incidents that I am aware of was on Air Canada Jazz from Toronto to Atlanta. I will let the readers make their informed conclusions on their own....
From the Ottawa Sun:
Supreme Court to hear appeal of Ottawa man who said Air Canada wasn't able to serve him in French
A Federal Court judge fined Air Canada $12,000 on Wednesday after Michel Thibodeau accused the airline of failing to serve him in French during several flights he took in 2009.
Credits: ANDRE FORGET/QMI AGENCY
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court will hear the case of an Ottawa man who complained he wasn't able to order a 7-Up in French on an Air Canada flight.
Michel Thibodeau won his original case against the airline, alleging he was unable to be served in his native language on flights he and his wife made between January and May, 2009.
The Federal Court determined Air Canada did not comply with its linguistic obligations under the Official Languages Act and ordered the airline to pay Thibodeau and his wife, Lynda, $12,000 in damages and cover their court costs.
But the Federal Court of Appeal later overturned that decision, finding the airline made "significant efforts" to serve the Thibodeau's in French.
No date was set when the case will be heard at Canada's top court.
Just when you thought the "silly season" was over and we could watch the Stanley Cup in peace this one comes back.
I might add one of the incidents that I am aware of was on Air Canada Jazz from Toronto to Atlanta. I will let the readers make their informed conclusions on their own....
From the Ottawa Sun:
Supreme Court to hear appeal of Ottawa man who said Air Canada wasn't able to serve him in French
- 10:53 am, May 2nd, 2013
A Federal Court judge fined Air Canada $12,000 on Wednesday after Michel Thibodeau accused the airline of failing to serve him in French during several flights he took in 2009. Credits: ANDRE FORGET/QMI AGENCY
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court will hear the case of an Ottawa man who complained he wasn't able to order a 7-Up in French on an Air Canada flight.
Michel Thibodeau won his original case against the airline, alleging he was unable to be served in his native language on flights he and his wife made between January and May, 2009.
The Federal Court determined Air Canada did not comply with its linguistic obligations under the Official Languages Act and ordered the airline to pay Thibodeau and his wife, Lynda, $12,000 in damages and cover their court costs.
But the Federal Court of Appeal later overturned that decision, finding the airline made "significant efforts" to serve the Thibodeau's in French.
No date was set when the case will be heard at Canada's top court.
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Dear Lord, Canada is becoming the laughing stock of the world, whilst the Quebec "speach police" ban the word "Pasta" in an Italian resteraunt , Quebec drives industry out of the province every day, Montreal is becoming a minor economic player in Canada, twits like this make us all look like fools. In many EU countries they encourage multi lingulism, my kids all speak at least three, one speaks five, my brothers gang seven, and gues what? we were driven out of Quebec when my kids were not allowed into a French school, my wife being from "down under",{remember bills 21 and 22?} As the radical fringe in our nation drive the French speaking population into a "gheto" of their own making by denying English instruction in most of PQ schools, Manderin is about to take over as the second language in much of the nation, what an expensive joke this is turning out to be, and the average hard working French Canadian is paying the price as more and more English speakers across this once great nation become fluent in French, thus having the upper hand when it comes to good jobs!
A few words...
First, look at the guy... Looks like a looser to me.
Second, I know for a fact that Air Canada and its feeders try as best to get "bilingual" crews onboard their aircrafts. I worked for one of their feeders in the past and have been on many AC flights as a paying passenger too and I have cannot ever encountering a flight where French was not available and even international flights to Asia and Europe.
However to the outside world it may be hard to comprehend that having at least one crew member that speaks French onboard all the time is perhaps nearly impossible for simple reasons that aircrafts and crews come from all parts of the country to fly in and out of Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto etc.
Aircraft mechanicals, weather related problems, crew scheduling, lack of French speaking personnel available at any time could be one of the reasons this flight did not have a French speaking crew member onboard for this flight on that day (although he claims it happened twice).
I'm sure it's no big deal to 99.9% of the French speaking population in Canada but once in a while you get an asshole who's willing to stir crap about anything and this time it was about the lack of French being used onboard a flight.
I hope he loses his appeal!
PS... I'm a Canadian of French origin (nearly 300 years ago).
First, look at the guy... Looks like a looser to me.
Second, I know for a fact that Air Canada and its feeders try as best to get "bilingual" crews onboard their aircrafts. I worked for one of their feeders in the past and have been on many AC flights as a paying passenger too and I have cannot ever encountering a flight where French was not available and even international flights to Asia and Europe.
However to the outside world it may be hard to comprehend that having at least one crew member that speaks French onboard all the time is perhaps nearly impossible for simple reasons that aircrafts and crews come from all parts of the country to fly in and out of Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto etc.
Aircraft mechanicals, weather related problems, crew scheduling, lack of French speaking personnel available at any time could be one of the reasons this flight did not have a French speaking crew member onboard for this flight on that day (although he claims it happened twice).
I'm sure it's no big deal to 99.9% of the French speaking population in Canada but once in a while you get an asshole who's willing to stir crap about anything and this time it was about the lack of French being used onboard a flight.
I hope he loses his appeal!
PS... I'm a Canadian of French origin (nearly 300 years ago).
Last edited by Jet Jockey A4; 4th May 2013 at 12:36.
And yet, some still wonder why, so many have voted with their feet and left Montreal and Quebec.
ICAO will be next to leave following in the footsteps of Esso,Hyundai,and lots of little contractors and companies who have left town.
ICAO will be next to leave following in the footsteps of Esso,Hyundai,and lots of little contractors and companies who have left town.
Last edited by fitliker; 4th May 2013 at 13:30.
Let us leave provincial politics out of this please.
Just because a certain person didn't like the service he got onboard an airplane, doesn't mean we have to smear the whole province for the actions of one person.
Just because a certain person didn't like the service he got onboard an airplane, doesn't mean we have to smear the whole province for the actions of one person.
@ albatross...
"Does Air Canada even serve 7-Up? I thought they offered Sprite."
How do you even order a Seven Up in French?
"un sept en haut?" I guess!
How do you even order a Seven Up in French?
"un sept en haut?" I guess!
Last edited by Jet Jockey A4; 4th May 2013 at 20:08.
I forgot about GM closing in Quebec as well due to the goofy corrupt politics in Quebec.Just a matter of time before Air Canada moves to Upper Canada.
Should happen about the same time as the ICAO move ,that should keep it off the front pages and prevent any Rouge faces
Should happen about the same time as the ICAO move ,that should keep it off the front pages and prevent any Rouge faces
@ fitliker... Since you seem to like politics, let us be political then...
LMAO... You sure seem to know all about Quebec politics.
Mind you politics in Alberta are squeaky clean too, not!
And people there are so smart that they keep voting for the same party for the last 40 years.
BTW, GM moved out of Quebec because of re-structuring and had nothing to do with politics. The Quebec plant had an exemplary record winning many internal awards from GM.
Also I'm pretty sure GM downsized a lot in Ontario putting a lot of people out of jobs there too.
And on ICAO moving of Montreal I doubt it because the ICAO's general consul voted unanimously to stay in Montreal for at least another 20 years!
The only way Montreal would lose ICAO would be because of the stupid and arrogant Harper/Conservative government we have in place in Canada. Isn't that corrupt, conservative, Bible thumping politician from cow town, excuse me Calgary Alberta?
Read on meat head... Yahoo! News Canada - Latest News & Headlines
Mind you politics in Alberta are squeaky clean too, not!
And people there are so smart that they keep voting for the same party for the last 40 years.
BTW, GM moved out of Quebec because of re-structuring and had nothing to do with politics. The Quebec plant had an exemplary record winning many internal awards from GM.
Also I'm pretty sure GM downsized a lot in Ontario putting a lot of people out of jobs there too.
And on ICAO moving of Montreal I doubt it because the ICAO's general consul voted unanimously to stay in Montreal for at least another 20 years!
The only way Montreal would lose ICAO would be because of the stupid and arrogant Harper/Conservative government we have in place in Canada. Isn't that corrupt, conservative, Bible thumping politician from cow town, excuse me Calgary Alberta?
Read on meat head... Yahoo! News Canada - Latest News & Headlines
Last edited by Jet Jockey A4; 4th May 2013 at 17:11.
LOL... Perhaps.
Mind you the french spoken in New Brunswick is something else too.
If you go to certain areas of France, they understand some of the Quebecois expressions which are basically from the "old French" language.
Mind you the french spoken in New Brunswick is something else too.
If you go to certain areas of France, they understand some of the Quebecois expressions which are basically from the "old French" language.
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So I guess Air Canada cabin crew should not only be fluent in English and French but also in joual and the patois of Jamaica and Haiti when they fly to the Caribbean and bubba when they fly to Texas.
Thread Starter
Good Morning All:
It would seem (according to the Ottawa Sun) Mr Thibodeau went after O.C. Transpo because the bus drivers were not bi-lingual and advertising signs on the bus were not bi-lingual as well.
It is alleged he is a federal civil servant who lives in Ontario! I wonder if his choice of domicile has to do with income tax savings as opposed to language?
But I digress
Article from the Ottawa Sun below:
French fly guy a frequent suer
Michel Thibodeau poses for a photo in Ottawa July 14 2011. A Federal Court judge fined Air Canada $12,000 on Wednesday after Michel Thibodeau accused the airline of failing to serve him in French during several flights he took in 2009.
Credits: ANDRE FORGET/QMI AGENCY
JESSICA MURPHY & KELLY ROCHE
OTTAWA - A French-language rights activist is giving a Gallic shrug to criticism he took his crusade too far by suing Air Canada because of a lack of bilingual service.
"It's a rights issue," Michel Thibodeau said Thursday, a day after a Federal Court judge ruled the airline must pay him $12,000 plus court fees because it failed to provide French service on a series of flights Thibodeau and his wife took in 2009.
In one case, he requested a 7Up in French and was served a Sprite.
"It is my right that is not being respected," he said.
The case has sparked an online and media discussion on whether enforced national bilingualism is good government policy.
According to a 2009 Fraser Institute report, the federal government and other bodies subject to the Official Languages Act spend about $1.8 billion a year on bilingualism requirements.
The 2006 census shows French is the mother tongue of some seven million Canadians.
It's not the first time Thibodeau, who is fluently bilingual, has taken Air Canada to court -- he sued the airline in 2002 over the same issue and won.
This time, he asked for an additional $500,000 in punitive damages -- to make a point and not for the cash, he says.
"There comes a point where a big corporation like this, when they violate rights, year after year, hundreds of times, thousands of times, you've got to do something for it to change," he said.
Thibodeau also said he might not have taken Air Canada to court if the airline hadn't acted in what he described as a belligerent manner when he requested service in French.
In 2008, the federal official languages office gave the airline a D grade for its bilingualism, with just 41% of employees in customer service positions speaking both French and English. The office will release a followup audit of the company in September.
NDP MP Claude Gravelle said the airline was one of the worst offenders that he saw hauled before Parliament's official languages committee.
"If you break the law, you have to pay," he said.
As former Crown corporations, both Air Canada and Via Rail must comply with the Official Languages Act.
TOOK ON OTTAWA TRANSIT SYSTEM
The airport isn't the only place Michel Thibodeau expects to receive service in French.
The city of Ottawa's bilingualism policy was scrutinized in January 2008 after the east-end Ottawa resident filed an official languages complaint.
According to Thibodeau - who often rode the bus - OC Transpo bus drivers were only greeting passengers with "good morning," not "bonjour." They also weren't calling out stops in French, he said, and that was offensive.
"When I take the bus, I can't get the same service in French," he told QMI Agency.
"When bus drivers speak to passengers, it's never in French."
Thibodeau works for the federal government as an IT support specialist.
He took a stance, calling for English-speaking drivers to get language training, even saying all new hires should be bilingual.
Thibodeau also criticized the English destination signs on the front of buses, asking for French language accents to be added.
"This is my city and my country and two peoples founded this country - the English and the French - and we have decided to live with each other," Thibodeau said at the time.
Thibodeau wasn't awarded money in any of these cases.
Since last April, an automated Next Stop Announcement System is on all city buses.
The bilingual voice system calls out upcoming stops and also displays street names in both languages.
It would seem (according to the Ottawa Sun) Mr Thibodeau went after O.C. Transpo because the bus drivers were not bi-lingual and advertising signs on the bus were not bi-lingual as well.
It is alleged he is a federal civil servant who lives in Ontario! I wonder if his choice of domicile has to do with income tax savings as opposed to language?
But I digress
Article from the Ottawa Sun below:
French fly guy a frequent suer
- 8:47 am, July 15th, 2011
Michel Thibodeau poses for a photo in Ottawa July 14 2011. A Federal Court judge fined Air Canada $12,000 on Wednesday after Michel Thibodeau accused the airline of failing to serve him in French during several flights he took in 2009. Credits: ANDRE FORGET/QMI AGENCY
JESSICA MURPHY & KELLY ROCHE
OTTAWA - A French-language rights activist is giving a Gallic shrug to criticism he took his crusade too far by suing Air Canada because of a lack of bilingual service.
"It's a rights issue," Michel Thibodeau said Thursday, a day after a Federal Court judge ruled the airline must pay him $12,000 plus court fees because it failed to provide French service on a series of flights Thibodeau and his wife took in 2009.
In one case, he requested a 7Up in French and was served a Sprite.
"It is my right that is not being respected," he said.
The case has sparked an online and media discussion on whether enforced national bilingualism is good government policy.
According to a 2009 Fraser Institute report, the federal government and other bodies subject to the Official Languages Act spend about $1.8 billion a year on bilingualism requirements.
The 2006 census shows French is the mother tongue of some seven million Canadians.
It's not the first time Thibodeau, who is fluently bilingual, has taken Air Canada to court -- he sued the airline in 2002 over the same issue and won.
This time, he asked for an additional $500,000 in punitive damages -- to make a point and not for the cash, he says.
"There comes a point where a big corporation like this, when they violate rights, year after year, hundreds of times, thousands of times, you've got to do something for it to change," he said.
Thibodeau also said he might not have taken Air Canada to court if the airline hadn't acted in what he described as a belligerent manner when he requested service in French.
In 2008, the federal official languages office gave the airline a D grade for its bilingualism, with just 41% of employees in customer service positions speaking both French and English. The office will release a followup audit of the company in September.
NDP MP Claude Gravelle said the airline was one of the worst offenders that he saw hauled before Parliament's official languages committee.
"If you break the law, you have to pay," he said.
As former Crown corporations, both Air Canada and Via Rail must comply with the Official Languages Act.
TOOK ON OTTAWA TRANSIT SYSTEM
The airport isn't the only place Michel Thibodeau expects to receive service in French.
The city of Ottawa's bilingualism policy was scrutinized in January 2008 after the east-end Ottawa resident filed an official languages complaint.
According to Thibodeau - who often rode the bus - OC Transpo bus drivers were only greeting passengers with "good morning," not "bonjour." They also weren't calling out stops in French, he said, and that was offensive.
"When I take the bus, I can't get the same service in French," he told QMI Agency.
"When bus drivers speak to passengers, it's never in French."
Thibodeau works for the federal government as an IT support specialist.
He took a stance, calling for English-speaking drivers to get language training, even saying all new hires should be bilingual.
Thibodeau also criticized the English destination signs on the front of buses, asking for French language accents to be added.
"This is my city and my country and two peoples founded this country - the English and the French - and we have decided to live with each other," Thibodeau said at the time.
Thibodeau wasn't awarded money in any of these cases.
Since last April, an automated Next Stop Announcement System is on all city buses.
The bilingual voice system calls out upcoming stops and also displays street names in both languages.
Doesn't surprise at all.
The guy looks like a trouble making SOB.
Probably a separatist making a living by working for the federal government and as the gull to live in Ontario instead of Quebec to save on income tax...
What a pr!ck.
The guy looks like a trouble making SOB.
Probably a separatist making a living by working for the federal government and as the gull to live in Ontario instead of Quebec to save on income tax...
What a pr!ck.
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"You just gotta love the "Two Peoples founded this country" There were thriving comunities long before his kin got of the boat,this sort of hyphenated Canadian stuff is right up there with the the Arayan crap the "master race" used to spout, in my neck of the woods the "founders" were Scots, Irish, and Welsh, and above all the First Nations, the irony being all of us around here keep our traditions and customs unprotected by any Federall laws, thats the difference between a thriving dynamic culture and a bloody bunch of complainers like this twit, see you at the Highland Games in June,where you can speak any lingo you want, as long as its laced with whiskey fumes!
Last edited by clunckdriver; 6th May 2013 at 19:27.
