Because they were on a study permit when we applied, so couldn’t benefit from working while on implied status. In that case you have to wait for work permit (SOWP) to come through first. Our situation was tricky cause our permits expired two weeks after we applied for pr, so we were really depending on BOWP and SOWP. Pretty lame that IRCC never even looked at them because the whole purpose of those work permits are to not disrupt your life while you wait for pr decision, and our lives have sucked for the last 8 months. If your spouse already has a work permit they’ll be able to continue working on implied status, no need to worry. Just make sure you apply for pr before your current permits expire because that’s a condition of applying for BOWP/SOWP.