That's messed up.
For the most part, Canada has its immigration system (FSW, Express Entry, PR processed in 6 months etc) well sorted out. However, its systems are very outdated. I am saying this in comparison to the US's process.
For example, when my wife's passport was submitted to the Canada Visa Application Center(VAC) in India, they provided a tracking number. But it so useless because it tracks the passport from the VAC to the embassy only. Once it reaches the embassy for processing, there is complete radio silence. That's where it gets stuck for a while (months together). I had to contact the Consul General in India via Facebook and literally pester him to get the process going. He was kind enough to push it through because I provided proof of impending travel. Compare that to the US's visa processing system - it takes only 5-7 days from the day you submit the passport to the day you receive it back, and every step of it is trackable.