Sorry to hear about this inconvenience. I have flown United many times to the U.S. west coast, and for the most part they are pretty good. One time I got stranded at ORD, and they made good by giving my wife and I food vouchers and two $100 gift certificates which they really didn't have to do. Better than American, Spirit, Frontier, and a few others IMO. I sort of agree with Leagle, it's really not worth the extra cost. Maybe you could ask Air Canada to cover that charge for you since they started this whole thing. I must say with a hint of humor that I would have to consider long and hard if someone told me that we couldn't leave St. Martin for another 3 days!