I also have an update, I was able to have my license issued today. Hopefully this helps people:
I called the CFP and explained my last conversations with them and with my CFO, where we established my application was with a "jurisdiction officer" in Miramichi (despite the CFP computer system saying it's with my provincial CFO).
No new updates from the CFP general inquiries line, as they apparently do not have much in the way of direct communication with the jurisdiction officers, so I asked if it's possible to get a number for them.
The general inquiries officer transferred me and after some more time on hold and a brief conversation with the jurisdiction officer (who really was a lovely lady, certainly the most pleasant Federal employee I've dealt with outside of the National Parks Service), she verified that all my approvals had been completed, just one more box to tick to rubber-stamp it, and then she ticked that box and gave me my PAL number.
She did say that they're only printing every 2-3 weeks so not to count on a physical copy until January.
I would recommend this course of action to anyone who's been stuck at the "initial approval complete" phase.