As with many bureaucratic procedures, delays are the result of problems with the management of supply and demand.
Since becoming immigration critic, I've begun to think more and more that delays are used as a management tool to keep the number of applications down and to discourage applicants so that only those who are highly motivated to come to Canada actually apply. Delays are used as an excuse to tell people that if they really want to come to Canada, they will have to wait. If these individuals are prepared to wait two, three, four or five years, it means that they truly do want to come to Canada.
Do you sometimes get the impression that regardless of the government in office, waiting times are used as a tool to manage immigration?