this is what i got from Minister office
I am replying to your correspondence of January 17, 2011, addressed to the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, concerning the permanent residence application of your XYZ .
Family reunification is a priority of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Accordingly, every effort is made to complete the processing of spousal applications as quickly as possible. In addition to meeting the statutory requirements of being in good health and of good character, the visa officer must be satisfied that the applicant is admissible to Canada, and, in the case of spouses, that the relationship is genuine and not entered into for immigration purposes only.
I understand your frustration at what appear to be unwarranted delays in issuing a permanent resident visa to your husband. The many steps involved in processing an application, coupled with the volume of applications, sometimes make it difficult to conclude cases in as timely a manner as we would like. Please be assured that we make every effort to the deal with the applications we receive in the most efficient and effective manner.
XYZ application was received by the visa office in Islamabad July 12, 2010 and is currently in process. Our statistics show that between October 1, 2009, and September 30, 2010, application for sponsorships of spouses took on average 16 months to process at this visa office. For updated processing times please consult the following: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-spouses.asp#west
While I realize that this situation is distressing to you, I trust that the information provided is of assistance.