Just did a booking for next week YYC-YEG and rules stated

"A 50.00 (Canadian Dollars) penalty will be assessed for itinerary change causing ticket reissue."

That seems a lot more reasonable and takes some of the sting out of L/Q standby (not all of it mind you--I still think they need a way to book L, Q, V fares etc online and they need to give the passengers a complete set of fare rules with each ticket)