From a legal perspective that depends on the intent. I suspect that the internal discussions on the subject would be quite damning if revealed in court but that they have taken steps to erase the paper trail.

I am sure that each time this controversy flares up here, AC management reminds their personnel not to discuss the matter and to "follow the document management policy" for any email or documents that might be embarassing.

The solution could be as simple as to stop publishing the distance in the timetable, since there is no conceivable use for it other than predicting your mileage credit. I often wonder why they haven't done that.

Perhaps they believe that any action will be a recognition that they have been short-changing over the years and they will be compelled to fix it retroactively.

In the meantime, they are clearly in the wrong. Why should we have to trawl the internet and discussion forums on our own time to figure out the credit when they brazenly continue to mislead with their published numbers?

Next time you want to know what distance you'll get credited, call Air Canada and badger their call center person until you get the number. Sure, you will spend hours on hold, but maybe eventually they will get the point.