Well, that is certainly a relief. This really does make sense to me. It seems to make sense that when they do PER they would make sure that the caps for the NOC as well as the overall cap haven't been met before they move your application to the VO.
I could write a novel here to explain my reasoning but here I'll just say that there are multiple reasons why Canada is a better option, not just than the US but many other countries out there. I'd be glad to PM my reasoning to you so as to avoid an excessively long post here.
EDIT: It says I'm blocked from sending you a PM.