Spitefully Moronic Lawsuits
This is mischief for bitter mischief's sake. To stir things up, and to ensure that no one has the nerve to think that any corporation that falls under government guidelines on official bilingualism takes their presumed obligation less than seriously. Air Canada is in that position; formerly a Crown corporation, it is incumbent on the airline to comply lawfully with the Official Languages Act.
Air Canada has ten thousand employees, all of whom must surely be aware that there is a requirement that when passengers request language preferences, they are obliged as professionals and by the law and through their employment with Air Canada to comply. Most, undoubtedly do, because they can and they are more than willing to.
On occasion, francophone passengers may come across Air Canada employees who cannot offer them their language of choice. Or who take the request casually, perhaps dismissively. Mostly, undoubtedly, because most Canadian whose first language is French have passable English and will tolerate its use, and for the most part they can access French service.
There are, however, some people who salivate at the potential of unearthing situations where they are mortally offended that their language rights have been dismissed. And where they feel justified in rearing up to full height insisting that there will be hell to pay.
And it pays off, just ask Michel and Lynda Thibodeau of Ottawa who have made complaining about lack of French-language service their special crusade. Oh yes, they're comfortable with English, but it is their constitutional right to insist on being served in the language of their choice. And that is - surprise! - French.
En route to the United States this couple was served Sprite in English, when they had ordered 7-Up in French. And that represents a truly impossible situation for any self-respecting francophone to accept. An insulting blow to the honour of the French language and to their personal sense of dignified entitlement.
For which offence they collected an $12,000 award in settlement of their complaint, for the court's decision was to find for them, and to order the airline to correct their obviously systemic failure to comply with the Official Languages Act. This was by no means the only time this couple raised hell about failure by Air Canada staff to respect their language rights.
Chief Justice Pierre Blais of the Federal Court acknowledged that this need under the Official Languages Act for Air Canada to serve its client base in the language of their choice placed an uneven business burden on them since their competitors are not bound by the same legal status. On the other hand, he noted also that out of 47-million points of customer contact a mere 12 complaints had been lodged over language services.
Guess how many emanated from this enterprising Ottawa pair of francophones? On two of the flights they took there was no bilingual flight attendant; a baggage announcement was English only; a check-in counter staffed by anglophones; a boarding gate in Atlanta English-only; and a pilot's weather announcement and arrival time, not translated. An unforgivably horrible litany of failures.
Justice Marie-Josee Bedard of the Federal Court's ruling stated: "...the violation of their rights caused them a moral prejudice, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of their vacation: awarded $6,000 each.
Mr. and Mrs. Thibodeau have a penchant, it seems to be readily aggrieved. They have also identified an income source to supplement whatever salary they source elsewhere. They have been highly successful to date in convincing the courts of the legitimacy of their language grievances. Perhaps they might think of the efficacy of searching out others with a like mindset and offer franchise opportunities in moronic nuisance-peddling.
Air Canada has ten thousand employees, all of whom must surely be aware that there is a requirement that when passengers request language preferences, they are obliged as professionals and by the law and through their employment with Air Canada to comply. Most, undoubtedly do, because they can and they are more than willing to.
On occasion, francophone passengers may come across Air Canada employees who cannot offer them their language of choice. Or who take the request casually, perhaps dismissively. Mostly, undoubtedly, because most Canadian whose first language is French have passable English and will tolerate its use, and for the most part they can access French service.
There are, however, some people who salivate at the potential of unearthing situations where they are mortally offended that their language rights have been dismissed. And where they feel justified in rearing up to full height insisting that there will be hell to pay.
And it pays off, just ask Michel and Lynda Thibodeau of Ottawa who have made complaining about lack of French-language service their special crusade. Oh yes, they're comfortable with English, but it is their constitutional right to insist on being served in the language of their choice. And that is - surprise! - French.
En route to the United States this couple was served Sprite in English, when they had ordered 7-Up in French. And that represents a truly impossible situation for any self-respecting francophone to accept. An insulting blow to the honour of the French language and to their personal sense of dignified entitlement.
For which offence they collected an $12,000 award in settlement of their complaint, for the court's decision was to find for them, and to order the airline to correct their obviously systemic failure to comply with the Official Languages Act. This was by no means the only time this couple raised hell about failure by Air Canada staff to respect their language rights.
Chief Justice Pierre Blais of the Federal Court acknowledged that this need under the Official Languages Act for Air Canada to serve its client base in the language of their choice placed an uneven business burden on them since their competitors are not bound by the same legal status. On the other hand, he noted also that out of 47-million points of customer contact a mere 12 complaints had been lodged over language services.
Guess how many emanated from this enterprising Ottawa pair of francophones? On two of the flights they took there was no bilingual flight attendant; a baggage announcement was English only; a check-in counter staffed by anglophones; a boarding gate in Atlanta English-only; and a pilot's weather announcement and arrival time, not translated. An unforgivably horrible litany of failures.
Justice Marie-Josee Bedard of the Federal Court's ruling stated: "...the violation of their rights caused them a moral prejudice, pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of their vacation: awarded $6,000 each.
"It is essential that Air Canada provide French-language training so that Air Canada and Jazz employees can improve and maintain their language skills, but it is equally important for the airline to have a procedure for measuring its actual performance regarding its official languages duties"...instructing them "to quickly identify, document and quantify potential violations of its language duties."Logic and common sense might prevail, one might imagine, and one might be wrong. The languages act requires federal institutions to provide service in both official languages where there is significant demand. The demands appear to be coming from a single source. Astonishing, given the millions of customers that Air Canada serves.
Mr. and Mrs. Thibodeau have a penchant, it seems to be readily aggrieved. They have also identified an income source to supplement whatever salary they source elsewhere. They have been highly successful to date in convincing the courts of the legitimacy of their language grievances. Perhaps they might think of the efficacy of searching out others with a like mindset and offer franchise opportunities in moronic nuisance-peddling.
Labels: Life's Like That, Ottawa, Politics of Convenience
posted by Pieface | 7:25 PM
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