Piling on (a little), I thought I'd provide the entire text received back from AC regarding a long tarmac hold on arrival due to an occupied gate. Given the very vague language, I suspect it's mostly the same boilerplate used every time.
Of interest is that the original complaint made no reference to the new act, only to the inconvenience (a missed meeting) resulting from the delay.
We are in receipt of your claim under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. We are sorry for the delay you experienced at arrival to your final destination.
In this instance, the compensation you are requesting does not apply because the delay was caused by a safety-related issue.
Air Canada airplanes are maintained in accordance with the required maintenance program but not all malfunctions, such as this one, can be foreseen or prevented through regular maintenance. The technical fault for your flight was unexpected and all reasonable measures were taken to avoid the flight disruption.
In accordance with the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, compensation does not apply under these circumstances. Unexpected airplane malfunctions may compromise safety and flight disruptions caused by unexpected aircraft malfunctions would be within a carrier’s control, but required for safety.
Mods - We don't really have a master thread for 'new' comp issues, so I thought I would add this here. Feel free to move.