Litigious much?

[Jean-F]

I’d always thought that the U.S. was the numero uno in petty litigation, but this French-Canadian couple are going for a gold medal I think, particularly on the seat belt issue.
It’s a bit like putting your car seatbelt in place, then complaining that there are no instructions on how to release it.


The Federal Court has ordered Air Canada to pay $21,000 to an Ottawa couple for repeated violations of their French-language language rights, including seatbelts on which the instruction to "lift" the buckle was marked only in English.

Michel and Lynda Thibodeau filed 22 complaints in 2016 with the commissioner of official languages for alleged offences under the Official Languages Act.

The pair complained that planes' emergency exit door signs were either in English only, or the English words were in larger font than the French ones. They noted seatbelts were engraved with the word "lift" with no French-language equivalent.

 

[Jean-F]

Wait... why does the money go to the couple, have they been wronged? Surely it should go to fixing the issues.

I don’t know how the law is couched, I remember ages ago, reading that everything had to be in both English and French, but that the French text had to be larger than the the English, but I assumed that it only applied in Québec, but as it’s on all Canadian dollar bills, maybe it’s a Federal law.
I can’t imagine anyone in Alberta getting the zig about something not in French, but maybe Québecois who primarily speak French can take the opportunity of sticking it to any company that does not comply.
There was a tongue in cheek rumour going around in Western Canada some years back, suggesting that all public notices be printed in English and First Nation (native Indian) languages, that would have caused legal mayhem in Manitoba and Saskatchewan!

 

[Jean-F]

Wait, there are markings on them?

Copied and pasted from the original report,

The Federal Court has ordered Air Canada to pay $21,000 to an Ottawa couple for repeated violations of their French-language language rights, including seatbelts on which the instruction to "lift" the buckle was marked only in English.

 

[Jean-F]

Frankly ridiculous and clearly a moronic judge not applying a bit of common sense - I feel sorry for his/her offspring.

Ridiculous I’d agree, but the judge may not have been a moron, he could have been faced by a lawyer/avocat, who knew the law inside out, and left the judge no possible alternative but to find for the plaintiffs.

 

[Jean-F]

Air Canada should tell them to **** off and sue the plane manufacturers instead - They made it like that, AC only purchased the vehicles!

Then I’m guessing that the Federal Government would say to AC, “You should have stipulated that the words tirez or lever be inscribed on the seat belt buckles, (in addition to pull or raise), when you ordered the planes.”
Or the plaintiffs lawyer would say it.
Yes, I know, it’s complete cobblers to you and I, we can open plane seat belts without looking at them, but M. et Mme. Thibodeau saw their chance, and went for it.

 

[Jean-F]

And what if none of the manufacturers offer that option?
I am aware of other things, made in and by non-English speaking places, specifically for non-English speaking markets often still have English as the only language on their stuff, simply because that's how it comes or that's what the schematic showed...

Besides, this is Air Canada, not Air Quebec, and only about 20% of Canada speaks French as a primary language. Moreover, I presume that people will be taking AC flights from other countries to Canada, with many of them likely speaking English as well, so it makes more sense to use English as the lingua franca... especially on things like seat belts where you may only have enough reasonable space for one word....

However, I will revise my earlier assertion by suggesting Air Canada respond with something more stereotypically Canadian, such as "Take off, hoser"!!

Love the final paragraph.
While I can agree that maybe only about 20% of Canadians speak French, the Official Languages Act says as follows,

The Official Languages Act (1969) is the federal statute that made English and French the official languages of Canada. It requires all federal institutions to provide services in English or French on request.

If you Google, is Air Canada a Federal Institution?, you’ll find a passage that says, “When the OLA was passed in 1969, Air Canada was designated a Federal Institution within the meaning of the Act.”
You can try to fight Ottawa, but I doubt you’ll win, good luck.