True. Some of the back end processing required for PR applications appears to be done most effectively from in the office. At least, that is what IRCC internal comms uncovered via ATIP requests have stated. Some of it is security related, others is just a bandwidth (VPN) issue.
And in some cases, the partner agencies that handle some of the processing stages (like the RCMP and CSIS) also got hit with processing delays due to staff WFH as a result of COVID.
All around, not the greatest few months for many government institutions here.
Many businesses (and Govt of Canada agencies) are slowly scaling their staff return to office in waves. These are being adapted based on Federal and Provincial Health advice, but in the case of a number of the big companies here, they are due to start having people back in office this month (August)