Hi - I am also PNP outland with application at CIO Sydney, Nova Scotia.
You are right Sydney, NV is slow processing center as compared to Ottawa. But its faster than few others like Montreal
In my case , eligibility is valid and background check is in progress ( per webform update as of 02 June )
I see that overall progress of my application is in line with processing time of 6 months.
I would suggest you to keep on following up with IRCC. For me , webform requests worked so far.I always received reply in 3-4 days.
I had raised GCMS notes in February for which I got reply in 30 days.
However, I raised one more GCMS request in April for which I received a note that indicates 60-90 days delay in GCMS processing.
I don't see any value in seeing status of application as of April in July/August.
Given current pandemic situation , I expect delayed approvals for our applications. Per this forum , most of the inland applications are currently being processed and approved. Considering that even last years' outland applications are pending approval , we need to wait.
Thanks.