wiz,
What exactly WERE you trying to say with your reference to FTL's then? I'm glad we agree that crews are tired. Can we also agree that the trends of the past year or so are only exacerbating the problem, not mitigating it?
I also agree that no economic action operates as a zero-sum game. So how can it be argued that there would be no impact to Canada's own operators if Emirates expands, and then say that there is no such thing as a zero-sum game! Which is it? It is precisely for that reason I do not wish to see Emirates gain at the expense of a country with things like labour laws, human rights protections, a robust legal system, etc. Because Emirates unmistakably benefits from these "advantages", operating as they do in a unelected dictatorship.
As far as the subcontinent pax, my only point is that they represent a large majority of the traffic, but a small minority of Canadians. It is hardly the crisis of choice it's being made out to be for the vast majority of Canadians. Most Canadians don't know about or care about Dubai, other than they are starting to discover what a financial and environmental disaster it is.
The bottom line is, it is not the mandate of the Canadian government to protect the commercial interests of Emirates Airline.
Besides, the debate about protectionism or economic gain or loss hardly interests me. It's the extortionist tactics EK is using, basically trying to blackmail their way into getting what they want. We see it all the time in our own dealings as employees, the bullying. It's ingrained in the culture, so it would be nice to see someone stand up to them.