UPDATE: Just got this come through from MP
Minister's office heard back from the IRCC office and apparently they can't find my husband's OWP application!!! They have record of it being received (thank god) but they can not locate the actual application. This was the actual explanation given to the minister from the office in charge of his OWP. So they requested I send pdf copies of the original application directly to the officer who will be working on it and it will be expedited. They said if my husband doesn't receive the permit within 3 weeks to contact them again.
Wow.
First off, we are elated to finally have an answer one way or another and that the permit may be approved and come within a month! Yayyyy... (fingers crossed but cautious) But I suspect that they just can't be bothered to go and find the application so they asked for the documents again and they'll work on it starting now. I can't believe it took three months of inquiries, web forms, MP inquiries, and the minister's office just for someone to say "we can't find it"
Sucks that if it's been lost all this time, I could've sorted it out 6 months ago! And what if I hadn't gone through this trouble...would they just have never said anything?!
For other's reading this thread now or in the future, i'd advise. If you do not have an application number for your OWP and you can not link it online after a few months then it is probably lost.
For those of you who have a linked OWP but are still not approved after 5+ months, we are still waiting to hear why no OWP yet. So the mystery continues.
It seems like the minister's office got answers quicker than the MP for us so try and ask if your MP would escalate the issue to the minister's office on your behalf.
I will report back on if and when the OWP comes. From today on my husband will try and link the OWP online to see if the application has been entered into the system yet and I'll keep you updated.