IRCC needs to be more consistent with processing times, we have CEC applications from February 2020 still ongoing and applications from February 2021 already approved. With paper-based PNP's, there are many applications from 2018 in processing as well.
Did anyone apply for the PGWP+ open policy extension recently? It required like 4 documents to apply and it took me like a week to get an approval. I believe people want to jump into this new PR pathway for the same reason, because at simple sight, there are way less requirements to apply than EE and this fact might be reflected into the processing times as well.
It's just different, OINP doesn't have a point-based system so if you meet the requirements you can apply when the stream opens and if you prove you're eligible, you get a nomination and can apply for PR. It takes waaaaaaaaaaaay longer than CEC though, so I'd only recommend it to people with low CRS scores.