Air transport a globalized industry
disclaimer... I am a proud Canadian living and working in the Middle East who served in the military and flew for several charter companies before becoming a victim of the Canadian aviation industry.
As I see it, air transportation has become a globalized industry and like it or not its the same process that occurred in IT, Textiles, Manufacturing etc. Air Canada and others that still cling to the past are not able to compete with EK, Qatar, Etihad, Singapore, Cathay, Korean, Air China etc because of their cost structure. This said if you choose to pay career wages to people whos jobs require little education or training then you will not be able to compete with companies that don't.
Those that are complaining about this invasion of foreign carriers should check the "Made In" tag in the back of every piece of clothing they own, the computers they use daily, the tv they watch, the food they eat. If it doesn't say "Made in Canada" then their argument is somewhat two faced.
I wish it was different but Canada took that fork in the road with everyone else about 30 years ago and this is the new reality.