Are any of AC's Canadian "valued customers" - those who buy business-class tickets - deciding to opt for alternate airlines? For many destinations in Europe and Asia, if beginning in, or connecting via Toronto, Vancouver and to a lesser extent Montreal and Calgary, there exist attractive alternatives. Granted, one might forego AQM/D/S accumulation, but at some point, surely value and comfort supercede loyalty to a product that fails to live up to your expectations. I understand a higher tolerance level amongst those who have been upgraded, fly for leisure or fly for the sake of flying, but if one must hit the ground refreshed n' running on the other side of an ocean, losing the Park Bench Lottery can make a tangible difference to one's performance and/or long-term health if a frequent enough traveler.
In more blunt language: why the heck do you continue to reward Air Canada? Want this fiasco resolved quickly? Fly with somebody else, and send AC a scan of your ticket receipt, or better yet, your status card with another alliance.
The local business crowd aside, I simply don't understand how AC hasn't resolved this issue by now, considering how they're pimping marketing themselves as a preferred carrier between the US and Asia/Europe to the traveler with means and options. The poor sap who flies between NYC and Australia, or from Cincinnati to Hong Kong on a deflated seat is unlikely to purchase a second ticket on Air Canada.