We were at the airport for 9 hours, trying to think of all the possible solutions to this problem. I showed the webpage of Canadian government as well as the regulation code indicating that there is no need for new Canadian Visas in this case. But AA personnels refused to accept it, arguing that you should either have an official letter from the Canadian embassy or ask them to fax us a letter that you do not need new Canadian visas.
It was during weekend and all the Canadian embassies were closed but I finally talked to someone in Canadian Immigration Office located at Toronto over the phone and he mentioned that this case has been clearly indicated in our official website and we are not able to call airlines or issue letters at the present time. They also mentioned that in these cases the Airline has to contact them and ask for the right course of action. I asked AA personnels to contact Canadian Immigration Office but they refused to do so.
I think your guess is right and I am trying to spread the word to avoid such an incident from happening to other travelers to Canada.
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