I suspect the notion of "integrity" may be coming from complaints of those who have been paying full-fare J that the Business/Executive Class cabin is being "topped off" by too many Golds and ExecPlats (and Elites and SuperElites) using upgrades from ultra-cheap fares. Even in the front cabin it is often nice to have an empty seat from time to time.
Remember that there is still that old "class"/"caste" system around, and the exclusivity of the front cabin (since unlike BA and a few others than maintain an ultra-exclusive F-Class cabin, and hold to a "no upgrades" to F policy except for operational purposes, and then only to those who "look like they shold be there") is being compromised in the view of many who are fortunate to have their companies pay the full shot, or who themselves don't bat an eye at shelling out $3,000 to fly across the country.
Those of us who are not that fortunate to be able to pay the full tariff may not always see it that way. (I believe this is what our friend AC*AE from New York on the AC forum is getting at...) Afterall, we may fly an awful lot, and bring a fair bit of business to the airlines, but for every 10 deep-discount flights many of us take, there are two or three or more pax who are paying full tarriff.
I'm not trying to defend AC or CP, just to present a possible, and in their minds valid, reason for dealing with upgrades the way they have this year.
In particular, as the merger goes through, and more flights are merged or schedules rationalized, neither carrier can estimate the number of full-fare J bookings they will have from one day to the other, or one flight to the next. Yes, they do have software which tries to predict this based on past patterns, but this is a new ballgame and it will take a few weeks of sample data to balance things out and make the patterns apparent. Right now, they don't want to piss off their higher fare paying patrons, so it is easier to filter out the lowest fare paying ones until they know the full statistical story.
As I've posited elsewhere, this is likely why we are also seeing the "phantom passenger" phenomenon, and uncertainty as to whose flight will be actually be flying on major transcons even though the sked may continue to list both of them.
Although we'd like to think of ourselves -- those who post regularly on FlyerTalk -- as the elite of FFs, the reality is that we are a relatively small number of flyers, and of upper level elites. There are many thousands of elites who, by virtue of their employment and corporate status, who don't particularly care about these things and who can afford full-fare flights. When the airlines talk about the 5% of their customers who give them 60% of their revenue (or whatever the numbers are), they are not always talking about us. (And in this I don't mean to generalize myself, but from the postings here, if we did pay more than the least expensive fare, few would be complaining about the changes. Except maybe losing the privilege of the "Ultimate Upgrade".)
This means we should not let our displeasure be known, and note the loopholes or variances between AC and CP programs when we spot them, but we should also recognize that we may not always be listened too. That's life. That's the markeplace. It's not fair. But humankind evolves to deal with such changes in his/her environment, and we may have to in this case too.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to put "us" down, but just provide more context. "Ration" over "Passion", as Trudeau (and artist Joyce Weyland) used to say in the 70s.
I just hope EMPRESS doesn't go over the top this weekend, and become a case of Age Rage. If that happens, he may have no choice but to fly to Vancouver through the 'States. I will be checking back later today to see how his travels have gone. And WINGWALKER who is also on the way to YVR from YYZ. As I suggested to EMPRESS in a private Email yesterday, it is a beautiful mild sunny day here in YEG, so if he's got an hour connection, take a short walk outside the terminal building and enjoy the interruption to your trip, take in the Big Sky, and check out the retired two DC-10s on the tarmac. Don't fight the fates that brought this upon you... Savour the good that they have provided you with.