By your logic of legal entitlement then, Oblaaspop, EK has run the course of their "entitlement" to access to the Canadian market and been denied further. A quick Google search will also reveal the terms of the bilateral agreement that Canada and the UAE are signatories to. Both are complying with it. So what's the problem?
Your ONLY motivation to agitate on this issue seems to be the fact you work for EK and (naturally) want to it to grow, grow, expand, make more money...guess what, not everyone shares your somewhat self-interested perspective. And this from someone who also work for Emirates and actually IS Canadian, not just making peevish comments about retiring there. (Pssst: we don't want you! But if Dubai is your cup of tea, you'd really hate Canada anyway.)
This entire thread really frustrates me. It's pretty damned obvious that the vast majority of people posting here are only interested in protecting AC!!! They have little or no interest in looking at facts, figures, or other perspectives. But most concerning is they clearly don't give a damn about regular 'Joe Public'.
So who's got their knickers in a twist here?
I have no love for Air Canada, the company. But here's a tip for you - all employees in Canada, including those of AC - ARE "Joe Public". So toss your ideas about "we're all posting to defend the great evil AC", and stow the contempt for the opinions and perspectives of people who actually live there, who actually are quite capable of assessing facts about EK and the UAE - even when they're being manipulated by the EK press spin machine. (You can fool some people, but not those of us who live here.)
What I certainly DO have, is a love for Canada, the country and the industries there, including aviation. No one has shown how giving EK more access to Canada will benefit both countries equally, in fact a recent article earlier posted quite lucidly lays out the case for the exact opposite. It's a no-brainer that Emirates would take more away from the party than they're bringing, so they haven't been invited. Not that difficult to comprehend. I for one - the last to defend any politician - am deeply grateful and surprised that the Canadian government seems to have found some backbone, and then taken the high road over the whole Minhad situation. All the UAE did was embarrass themselves and show their true colours. Not to mention give a huge credibility problem to TC's shrill insistence that the national airlines aren't supported/subsidized/linked to the UAE government. I only wish Canada would take it a step further and shut down the UAE's overflight rights. To make a point.
To paraphrase your own comments, why in the hell is a Brit living in the Middle East trying to dictate to Canadians what the correct attitude to markets is? Please prove to me that it's ANY of your business beyond the aforementioned self-interest!