Aeroplan was originally a "Frequent Flyer" program designed to keep customers flying their planes and especially the business traveller. It wasn't a profit centre per se, just a marketing program.
AC developed Aeroplan into a "Loyalty Program" for a bunch of reasons: including it's original purpose of trying to keep frequent flyers but also trying to use it as a wider marketing tool to reach non regular flyers AND (and this is the important part) to start making a profit in itself.
So now, whether you fly a lot or buy a lot of stuff with your visa or amex or buy your gas at esso your just an Aeroplan customer. Remember AC sold Aeroplan off as a private business so AP don't care if you fly on planes or pump gas at Esso, makes no real difference to them.
They can bump up the redemption rates all they want, all it will do is increase their profits and we'll still keep collecting like sheep. How did they come up with what the increase would be this time around? They likely had some expert figure out the absolute maximum they could screw us without having an outright mutiny - and now we know what those numbers are.
Aeroplan is just a stand alone non-airline business so it shouldn't be a surprise they are trying to make as much money as possible at our expense and it's not surpising they are in collusion with AC in regards to the surcharges on redemptions.
With the over the top increase in redemption amounts and the Air Canada tolls - Aeroplan, in my opinion, is no longer worth the effort.
Their greed has overtaken them.
AC needs to get back to a real FF program