As a lowly Elite, I've booked biz class tix for friends from YUL-LHR, YUL-CDG, and YYZ-HKG, all without me even sitting on the plane, let alone in paid J! It sounds like the agent assumed you were trying to use the IKK rules to get the seat, instead of a run-of-the-mill award seat. Call back, and play the agent lotto game.