Everyone has different life planning, goals and some of them rely on becoming Canadian ASAP
How would becoming a citizen affect your life planning and goals? The only ways I can think of:
1. Get a job where being a citizen is a requirement - in which case, you can apply for urgent processing. I have personally helped a friend do this and they got approved within 5 months of application.
2. Be able to leave the country and live elsewhere - in which case, you can leave, since the intent to reside in Canada has been removed as prerequisite for citizenship. You still maintain your PR for the next three years at least, by which time you should have obtained your citizenship. I have done this - moved to the US to be with my spouse. Yes, there are risks associated with this, but I don't see it as major, so long as one hasn't at any point misrepresented their intentions to IRCC. And regardless, this is on me. IRCC is under no obligation to process my application quickly to allow me to leave the country. I certainly don't think I have the right to complain when it has not even been a year since I applied and average processing time is 27 months.
3. Get citizenship to be able to apply for TN visa to move to US - Similar to last point, that's on you.... not something Canada is obligated to help you with because it was not the intent of them granting you your PR.
The only other way that I can see it affects us, is with regard to our ability to vote, and while this is important and a great privilege to have, I don't see how not being able to vote is stressful or difficult.
All in all, while an important status to hold, I don't see the delay in obtaining it causing stress or difficulty on us applicants. On the other hand I see the delays in grants of PR, especially for refugees and to a lesser degree applicants who live abroad in countries with less than ideal conditions, being absolutely stressful and difficult. I would happily wait 27 months to get my citizenship if it meant that those PR applications are prioritised.
Sorry long post, but hoping to put things into perspective here for some people feeling frustrated.