It's just frustration with IRCC throwing older applications in the trash for a long time with no communication whatsoever. Newer PNP applications are being finalized in 3-4 months now and many 2 years old applications are still pending. Backlog is getting cleared but not fast enough otherwise, we would have seen big draws instead of small ones with ridiculously high cut-offs.
I'm not saying it's right. I know how close I came to getting caught in that mess, I'm not so oblivious that i don't empathize with the plight of people. There were legitimate reasons related to covid that affected delays, but it also became a blanket excuse for things not being done on time as well.
But it takes resources to clear backlogs and it also takes time. You guys are not the only ones suffering, everyday there are news reports here on backlogs related to passport issuances as well, and these are actual Canadian people, who are taxpayers and are also stuck in the system.
I have a friend whose citizenship application has been in process for more than 2 years.
They need to do better, but it's better than countries like Australia which basically stopped all immigration throughout the pandemic. They could have easily used covid as an excuse to stop processing or even cancel applications.
The primary job of the IRCC, which is a government agency, is to process applications. And it's a paid service for the most part including PR application processing. So, they absolutely owe the applicants who've paid them money a timely response/decision.
I do see the rationale for would-be applicants though.
You guys have to get this through your heads, just because you pay whatever paltry sum as your processing fee doesn't mean you get to dictate or demand anything.
IRCC is accountable to the government, voted by Canadian taxpayers. Tomorrow they want to refund all your processing fees and dump your applications, they can do that as long as they have a mandate to do so. Ask all the paper applicants before express entry was introduced what happened to their applications, when they all got canceled and got their fees refunded.
I empathize but this is what Mark Holthe was saying, in the actual, legal context, IRCC does not owe you anything.
Ethically, do they owe you a timely response? Sure, no one would dispute that. But it's understanding the difference between an ethical guiding principle with the facts of the matter.
No country puts itself in a position where it needs to be accountable to applicants when it comes to its immigration programs and policies.