Yep yep yep! Whenever my dad calls me to ask about how our papers are coming along, he always goes into some long rant about Harper and his immigration "reforms". Don't even get me started on everything else Harper is up to..
We applied for a TRV for my husband last year, too! They had a special box to tick for him, though. Right at the bottom it was checked "other" and then written something along the lines of "due to the situation in Syria, we don't think you'll go back." If you read through the threads here, you'll see it's nearly impossible for the spouse of a Canadian to get a TRV. Why? Because they have "close family ties" to Canada, and therefore will choose to stay forever illegally.
I have a German friend here who got his wife's residency in a MONTH. I asked him if they expedited his paperwork due to the situation over here, and
he just looked at me blankly and said "No.. she's my wife.." Yup. That sure would make sense, wouldn't it?