Hi, Samoinp.
Processing times are not exactly the same for everyone, whether or not you're a nominee. The processing times announced represent the average time of 80% of all processes, so I don't think we should pay attention to this difference.
Anyway, if you add up the time one would be waiting for OINP's nomination (after declining the direct ITA) with the time waiting for the next EE draw (which is NOT guaranteed to be every 2 weeks), you'd be very close to a month already. And I'm not even considering the time this person spent wondering if declining the ITA is the best option!
Besides, we must always remember that being a nominee reduces our options once we arrive here, since we must live in the province at least for some years. I believe that the possibility of a one-month shorter processing time is not worth it.
Totally agree !!! It doesn't make sense to decline if one had already got an ITA. From Ontario's stand point, they want to nominate someone who already has an ITA. They are competing for that Human resource and ideally they should be selling as to why the candidate should decline an ITA and accept a Ontario's nomination. From what i have seen in this forum, there isn't a strong selling point from Ontario.