I do not think this is correct. I am a spouse of a person holding a temporary work permit and I got approved for the authorization letter in September. Currently I am typing this in Canada.
You can find more information from here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/visitors/immediate-family.html under the sections: How to unite with an immediate family member who is in Canada temporarily and how to request a written authorization letter from IRCC.
I applied for the letter at the end of August, back then the IRCC website stated they would contact me within 5 business days, however, I waited for almost a month and got it eventually at the end of September, at which point I was about to cancel my travel as my ticket was the first of October. Now IRCC website stated 14 business days, so I guess leave enough time to apply for the authorization letter and make travel plans after getting the letter. Of course, you must meet all the health requirements and protocols issued by the government of Canada, such as having a plan for 14-day quarantine, download ArriveCan and fill out information, etc. At the departure airport, I printed out everything (authorization letter, copy of marriage certificate, the copy of my spouse's work permit, quarantine plan, and all other info I/you deem relevant) and showed the airline staff who had to take pictures of my documents and send them back to their Headquarters before issuing my boarding passes. Also upon landing in YYZ, I was asked to enter the room and answer a few questions from custom officers. I did mention that we are also in the PR application process and he could see our application in his system. He gave me a six-month stamp on my passport. However, I do not think "meet wife" is a non-discretionary reason for your spouse to travel, but more like re/unite with wife and live with wife afterwards. You can also follow the twitter of IRCC and get a vibe of how long you have to wait before you can get one. There many backlogs in this regard too, and so many people vented their frustrations there too. Also, I did see tweets from others saying they got rejected from applying for the authorization letter. I guess it is extremely important to attach all the required documents in one email and give a very convincing non-discretionary reason to come to Canada.
Before I came, I read so much about exemption scopes and authorization letters, but many of the sources in my language mentioned immediate family members of Canadian citizens and PR residents could apply for the authorization letter, which was wrong and misleading. Eventually I followed the guidelines from IRCC and here I am. So I want to help others to reunite with their spouses like I did during this trying time. I hope you guys and every one else in the same situation will be reunited very soon.
