I would say that when we look at the applications of these people, unless we know who they are and why they are or are not applying, it's pretty hard to figure out why people decide not to apply.
I was involved in this program many years ago, and when we met people in the communities, we found that sometimes people were afraid that submitting an application could trigger their removal from Canada. I think their understanding of the program was one of the elements that could make people decide not to apply.
Another element found in the communities among those who had applied before was also that some people were under the impression that because they had submitted an H and C application in the past, years ago, that they were not eligible to submit another one, which is not the case.
There was a communication issue and a misunderstanding of the program. These seemed to be some of the reasons why people sometimes decided not to apply even if they were aware of the program, but it is very hard to determine the reasons these people decided not to take some steps in this regard.