I would write to Air Transat again, maybe with a little less irony, as many airline employees are either a) too stupid to get it or b) drunk on power and use it inappropriately and demand your rights to compensation under Regulation 261/2004. The link Butch posted is helpful, but is a commercial compensation claims company who would take a percentage of your claim. You are entitled to this compensation if you meet the criteria and can claim this without paying euclaim any money whatsoever.
The issue of baggage weights is tricky. There are many passengers who believe that airlines allow passengers to go on the outbound leg with overweight baggage without charge, because they know that on the return leg the customer will have no choice but to pay the very excessive fees. If they had attempted to collect the fees on the outward journey, many passengers would have had the option of taking the goods out of their bags and putting them in their car or give them to family to take home before they leave. Ryanair have often been accused of this kind of duplicity. The problem is this... you will never prove the suspicion!! I personally doubt very much that they do this. Conspiracy theories are usually wrong and it is much more likely to be a ****-up. Air Transat could argue that they were generous in allowing you to fly outbound with no excess fees and you have no grounds whatsoever for complaint.
I would demand your rights under EU rules and pursue your political route. Canadians were treated apallingly by Air Canada during the severe weather over Christmas and this appears to have created a groundswell of political support for further reform to the rights of passengers. Now is a good time to pursue this. Bad publicity is also the best route. Post your experiences on here and on skytrax and any other forum you can find.
Good luck!
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