I think (well, I hope) that Airbnb understood that request would go nowhere. Airbnb is politically radioactive in Canada, any government percieved as "bailing out" Airbnb would likely suffer consequences at the ballot box.

I suspect Airbnb instead made the request to placate underwater hosts during the start of the COVID tourism crash - they had to be seen as doing something.

Still an incredibly scuzzy and tone-deaf ask, but put in context, I sort of get why they did it.