Paying Extra For Customer Service

In planning a trip to go visit Mare this summer, I've been diligently monitoring westjet.com and aircanada.com for seat sales. Recently, Air Canada had a minor sale at 179 each way, which is still way too pricey, but I decided to go through the booking process to see what the final total would be (after the exorbitant taxes and fees).
Air Canada gives you options when you're booking your flight; add $17 each way if you want to choose your seat right now, subtract $3 each way if you don't want to bring any checked luggage, add $6 for a small meal, etc. I noticed a new addition to the list of "extras" It's a little something called "On My Way" and for $25 (each way) you get the following:
"On My Way service gives you access to dedicated Air Canada customer service agents who will:
-Rebook the first available flight on Air Canada or another airline (instead of putting you on a standby flight sometime next week)
-Provide complimentary hotel accommodations, car rental, ground transportation and meals (no more sleeping on those back-breaking airport chairs ad brushing your teeth in the water fountain)
-Additionally, you'll receive automatic flight information updates by SMS and email" ("your flight has been cancelled due to a snowflake that was seen 20km from your destination airport")
The website also says this:
"On My Way service is uniquely designed to take the sting out of unforeseen travel disruptions and offer you a smooth, stress-free travel experience.
-For the traveller who wants to take the anxiety out of any unexpected situation
-For the traveller who wants extra peace of mind (peace of mind for only $50! A bargain!)
-For anyone who wants 24/7 access to dedicated, specially trained Air Canada agents (who actually speak fluent English and are paid to be friendly to you!) ready to help you on your way
-On My Way is not a replacement for travel insurance or the services your travel agent may provide "
Umm...what? Does anyone else see a problem with this?
This is a Get-out-of-Jail-Free card for Air Canada! If something goes wrong and you haven't purchased the special On My Way service, they can now say "Well you should have thought of that. NEXT!" If you drop the extra 50 (plus taxes, I'm guessing) they will not only do what they should be doing in the first place, but they might actually do it in a friendly manner!
Interesting. Seems to me that maybe, just maybe, rather than offer yet another fee for their flights, AirCanada should look into better policies to begin with. If I'm paying for a service and if I don't get the service I pay for, I would like to be compensated. Now they've just made it so that I won't be paying for the service in the first place.