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Air Canada has to pay $15,000 to a couple because the word 'lift' was not in French
- Thread starter Sqrt
- Start date
Air Canada is terrible, plus French is an official language here so maybe don't treat it as a secondary thing?
No but it's not my country or language and I wasn't affected. Maybe this was a hardship for them. I think language as a barrier between cultures is problematic but not up to me to decide which language or blend thereof should be the (pun avoidable but hey) Lingua Franca.
If the value to you of your language is political rather than practical then again, not my politics.
Canada and voters chose this situation. It looks expensive and fraught with emotion and has a maximal heritage weighting of three hundred years followed by profound rejection of its actual aboriginal heritage tongues (for English and French) but so does much of the world.
It'll all work out eventually. I hope. They (the whole world) should pick a language that's objectively flexible and useful and portable.
I'll be embarrassed if we're still having this problem in two or three hundred years except as a purely optional choice.
Seems excessive, at least for the seatbelt thing, the other stuff seems pretty reasonable. Do other Canadian airlines have seatbelts that have an engraved word in both languages? I would be somewhat concerned that this kind of regulation might be applied selectively to a single company in the suit but not others guilty of doing the same thing
I can understand the part about the word not being in French but the part where the french characters are smaller....now that's silly lol
I recognize Michel Thibodeau from the last time he sued Air Canada in 2011. He's been doing this for years.
I doubt this was for money. It could have cost that much to litigate. Likely something they are passionate and serious about. It's not an English-speaking country with two randos being dicks, it's an officially bilingual country with people rejecting inconsistent application of the law.
Personally I think it's a wasteful and overcomplex situation but it's the local norm and law. If this was a Japanese couple complaining about safety signs that weren't in Japanese, in Japan or pinyin vs traditional Chinese I'm China then it would look different in a headline to the point you might say, well wouldn't it make more sense to have Japanese etc?
But it's local politics and law and I do not have any meaningful say, nor should I.
Sure this is petty, but I have no sympathy for Air Canada considering the monopoly they have on domestic air travel, the fucking insane prices of domestic airfare, and the paltry salary they pay their pilots compared to other airlines.
Fuck Air Canada.
Fuck Air Canada.
So, uhh, is that translated or did they manage to spit that out in perfect English?
Why not go the US route and not declare an official language. Saves everyone from headaches.
People like this are humiliating to us normie French types
100% petty, and shameful to the culture
100% petty, and shameful to the culture
Because Canada has two distinct areas (English and Francophone Canada) was founded on having England / France?
Who would avoid the headache? The French speaking people of Canada who only speak French? It also forces foreign food that has no English on its packaging to have both English and French
I suppose I can see the argument for being strict to the law when it comes to airlines and emergency situations but I am curious how strictly it is adhered as the stakes are lowered?
Are ethnic restaurants required to include dish names in French and English on the menu? And if so, what about commonly known words from another language like spaghetti? I'm genuinely curious as I've never been to Canada. French or otherwise.
Are ethnic restaurants required to include dish names in French and English on the menu? And if so, what about commonly known words from another language like spaghetti? I'm genuinely curious as I've never been to Canada. French or otherwise.
An argument can be made that this sort of "petty" behavior has many benefits to the "normie French types" that you take for granted.
Apologies, I'm just tired of communities in my province being forced to drop millions on this stuff when we're already dirt ass poor. Meanwhile the French are fighting their/our own to calm the fuck down and start trying to preserve the culture in a way that doesn't screw everyone over, both Anglo and Francophone.
Fat chance. Quebec's language laws and their invoking of the "not withstanding clause" will see to that.
User banned (5 days): inflammatory commentary, insulting an accent and culture
I'd be more sympathetic if Canadian French wasn't itself already an insult to the French language.
Yeah air Canada loves being the only game in town so they can be the shit customer service kings. I'm never
gonna feel bad for them.
Jeez, that Macleans article linked earlier in the thread provides some context.
But y'know Air Canada is ass, so all I'm gonna say is that if this man is looking to rob corporate and champion francophone rights (but this guy is probably looking to mostly fleece corporate) I hope he is humanly polite as possible to the regular airline staff he encounters (that isn't.. busy eating a sandwich to make french announcements, I guess.)
But y'know Air Canada is ass, so all I'm gonna say is that if this man is looking to rob corporate and champion francophone rights (but this guy is probably looking to mostly fleece corporate) I hope he is humanly polite as possible to the regular airline staff he encounters (that isn't.. busy eating a sandwich to make french announcements, I guess.)
I mean, he made 22 complaints about it.
A normal company would rectify the problem before it goes all the way to a lawsuit.
It's even more stupid because even Air Canada knew they'd lose that lawsuit in a flash.
In Canada, interviews in French are frequently translated for English-speaking media, but several Francophones are still bilingual out of a necessity to do business in the private sector outside of Quebec. So it could be either, but in either case, the lawsuit seems to be more about the principle of the issue than an inability to understand. It IS the law and the law must be obeyed.
No, the majority are in full compliance with the law here, and I mean compliant to the absolute LETTER of the law. If you operate a business in Canada nationally selling goods or providing services, this is the minimum expectation to do so. Some companies go the whole way and do English, French AND Spanish, so they only have to print one box/manual/insert for use in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The stuff in that article makes sense and I understand why he spoke up and took it even further when pushed.
Filing a lawsuit for a missing word is ridiculous.
I don't think I've ever seen a seatbelt with anything other than English on it in any country, but I guess I haven't been paying attention.
This.
And that this can be done is for me as a Eurpean mindblowing.
Really? France is notoriously pushy about its language, including quotas about how many French songs must be played on the radio. And rent seeking lawsuits over technicalities aren't foreign to Europe either.
Wow, I don't even think Québec has that.
EDIT: nevermind, we do.
Also,
If you are blind/visually impaired this may be the same to you.
I totally understand it. I mean if it was viceversa people would be more empathetic towards the couple.