Just to report, either my girlfriend has been very lucky, or CIC has gotten their act together seriously.
She applied to extend her visitor status 1 month before her existing visitor status was expiring. At the time the CIC website said that the average processing time was 124 days, and the week after that it grew to 132. About 2-3 weeks after she submitted it was down to 80, which is the current figure on the website.
CIC has actually already processed her application, and approved it - less than a month since she applied - she will actually never be on implied status.
This just tells you how approximate the figures on the CIC website are, your application could be accepted - or rejected! - much more quickly than you think.