It seemed to me that one of the primary concerns surrounding the competition of Emirates entering the Canadian market was the worry that yields would fall, and that certain routes wouldn't be feasible to operate. It was also mentioned that Air Canada wouldn't have have been able to economically serve the key markets that Emirates would be connecting traffic to/from, ie. the Indian subcontinent.

However now, the Dreamliner has entered Air Canada's fleet, the airline is profitable, routes are now being started to Delhi and Dubai, and Air Canada's low cost carrier Rouge is making many once uneconomical routes, economical for Air Canada.

It seems to be pretty evident that it would be almost a no-brainer for Canada to increase the number of frequencies allowed to Emirates/Etihad, to bring in some more competition on a market that's unfairly polarized towards Air Canada.