CZ has a solid operation overall, and CAN is a very manageable airport. From what I heard on-board with the staff interaction with non-Chinese passengers, the staff has a solid grasp of English and are efficient at fulfilling requests. If you do have to call them for a customer service request, the wait times are short and again, fluent in English and mandarin and cantonese.
CZ will also grant certain Skyteam benefits, even though they left years ago.