Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, I would like to thank the witnesses for being here today.
We operate, in society in general and in this Parliament in particular, on the presumption of good faith. Mr. Chairman, I must admit to you that, in Air Canada's case, that presumption is very much in doubt.
The Official Languages Act has been in existence for more than 40 years and, for more than 40 years, Air Canada has been subject to the Official Languages Act. That obligation was continued when it was privatized. Hearing a litany of excuses from year to year to explain why the carrier can't comply with the act, an act that it accepted at the time of privatization, I admit to you makes me very impatient. Blaming the government doesn't work. It's not the fault of the governments of Trudeau, Clark, Turner, Mulroney, Campbell, Chrétien, Martin or Harper that Air Canada doesn't comply with the act; it's Air Canada's fault.
There is a man in Orleans named Michel Thibodeau, to whom Mr. Godin referred. Mr. Thibodeau simply requested a 7UP in French and he was told in a haughty manner, “I don't speak French.” It was not enough just to answer, “I don't speak French,” but it was done in a haughty manner. He won his case with... I know Michel Thibodeau, and he's an aggressive guy, an intimidating guy, but police officers were called because he had dared to assert his rights.