Originally Posted by
canadiancow
I think the spirit of the rules are "don't come to the airport stupidly early expecting to use the lounge, but if you fly in and are flying out without leaving the airport, it's fine". So I definitely think it's within the spirit. And you can clear domestic security with an international BP and use the domestic MLL any time, so I also disagree about it being an arrival lounge. I can't count the number of times I've used a domestic MLL with a TB or INT boarding pass.
Apologies, I didn't mean to imply that the OP couldn't use the domestic MLL with an international itinerary - of course they can and I have as well. My point was solely whether AC would consider a pax arriving at YYZ on a 014 ticket and then leaving many hours later on some other *G airlines ticket as a "connection" which a) exempts you from from the 3h minimum and b) would treat DOM as a transit / departure visit versus an arrival visit.
I disagree a bit on the spirit (which I interpret more as "if our crappy flight schedules or OTP require you to be here more than 3h on a layover that is okay"), and I think since that flight is not a "connection" it is not allowed by the letter. But I've never tried it and clearly you have and it worked, which is much more useful information for the OP than my conjecture!