@cannonbarrel
Hi, I tried to reply your PM but can't because your inbox is full. So I'm posting it here, hopefully you don't mind.
Regarding your question 1, I also only submitted my police certificate from home country. But if you've spent more than 6 months in other countries besides your home country and Canada, you need to provide police certification for those countries as well.
Regarding the IELTS, I didn't submit it nor specify anything, and they did not ask me for it, so I assume it's ok. Although, there's one difference between us. I applied under PNP-PHD so I was exempted from IELTS from the first place. But...I think it's ok, based on reading the checklist so many times. If you feel concerned, maybe you can just simply call CIC to confirm?
Hope it helps, and all the best!