Now for the funny ending. Completing check-in this morning at YYZ.
1) Kiosk does not ask me to swipe my passport.
2) No agent check of my passport when checking bags.
But ..... as I go through security I take a look at my BP and I notice that I've won the "You've been randomly selected for extra screening" lottery. In case you don't know, its often indicated by printing SSSS on the lower right corner of your boarding pass. I got an extra stamp too, from Canada TSA, that had to verified at the gate before I could board.
So now I'm really confused as to why I could not get a Boarding Pass during OLCI, unless its all related to this random selection process. Well I'll be back in a couple of weeks and we will see what happens this time around.
BTW at YYZ (Terminal 1) US Airways now has the old Continental Check-in Area. United has expanded to take the entire block of the J Hall (used to be United/US Airways shared)