Under normal circumstances, files are processed in Sydney, NS until ready for PPR. In some cases where the case processing officer judges that for some reason, the decision on your file needs to be taken by a higher authority, there's an early transfer to Ottawa for processing and consequently decision-making. Now is it bad...in that, will this cause delay ?? NOT ALWAYS. In some cases your PPR speeds up if transferred early to Ottawa - this can be the case where the higher officer in Ottawa reviews your file and deems it NOT to be complicated as the original officer had judged. In this case, I have seen where people go straight from "medical received" to DM or PPR. Ottawa seems to skip the whole IP step. In other cases, where the higher reviewing officer concurs with the Sydney Case officer that the case is indeed more complicated, more checks will be issued and this will result in delay. The delay can range from minor (a few weeks) to a year.
I know people say if your file is in Ottawa = delay (NOT always)...all you need to do is to review the evidence on this forum. Also it doesn't always speed up your application (even though it does in some cases). Look at it as an unknown variable