This is the problem exactly! We don't know if the longer we go along things will stabilize or get worse.
One way of thinking: Okay, it's been like 4 months since the border shut, so maybe IRCC is getting their plans together for implementation of COPR extension, along with prioritization of PR cards etc since there is a cut-off of March 18. So there's only a finite number of people they're expecting, so things might look up. Pandemic might also be easing up a bit, people are getting "used to it"' economy may be hit, but it's recovering slowly from shock. You think, "the further away in time my COPR is from expiring, the more chance I have to stay in my home country and ride out the chaos."
The other way of thinking: As every day goes by, more and more people's COPRs expire and the pile builds. Plus, post extension, all the renewed COPRs would bear an issue date post-March 18, so technically, we still wouldn't be allowed into Canada?(
+
)
Now, I wouldn't trust even courier services. The best way for the PR card to be given to you is by person, someone traveling to your home country from Canada. But we don't know how and when Canada will allow their people to fly out. The residential obligation clock still ticks when you leave Canada. Suppose you aren't able to come back for more than a year or so due to weird circumstances (second wave? extended isolation for Canada? etc).
God,please give us mental clarity to travel, settle, live and thrive in Canada.