The Canadian constitution requires that equal importance be given to English and French. Last year, Air Canada lost a lawsuit, and had to pay a six-figure fine to a French-speaking couple after they filed complaints about formal in-flight announcements in English lasting 13 seconds, as opposed to informal 5 second messages in French.
The French-speaking couple filed a complaint against Air Canada because
A. the in-flight announcements being made in English
B. the English announcements being longer than the French ones
C. the English announcements being longer than the French ones
D. equal importance being given to both English and French
E. equal importance being given to both English and French
Based on the given passage, which one of the following is the correct inference?
A. the in-flight announcements being made in English
B. the English announcements being longer than the French ones
C. the English announcements being longer than the French ones
D. equal importance being given to both English and French
GATE 2020 · General Aptitude · Verbal Reasoning · medium
Answer: Option C is correct: the couple complained because the English announcements (13 seconds, formal) were longer than the French ones (5 seconds, informal), violating the constitutional requirement of equal importance.
Identify the factual basis of the complaint: The passage says the couple complained about formal English announcements lasting 13 seconds versus informal French messages of only 5 seconds. The disparity is in length (13 s > 5 s) and formality (formal vs informal).
Eliminate option A: Option A: complaints about announcements being made in English. But French announcements were also made — the complaint is not that English was used, but about the inequality in treatment. A is not the correct inference.
Eliminate option D: Option D: equal importance being given to both languages. This is what the constitution requires, not the couple's complaint. The couple complained because equal importance was NOT being given. D is the opposite of the problem.
Confirm option C: Option C: the English announcements being longer than the French ones. This directly matches the passage: 13 seconds (English, formal) vs 5 seconds (French, informal). The English announcements were longer, violating the equal-importance requirement. C is the correct inference.