RQ Form CIT 0171 PDF

Not posted on the CIC website does not mean "not available for the public".

You keep going back to where we started, so perhaps this deserves more than a one-line explanation, although I really thought that the link I posted above would be sufficient.

So once again, yes, you are correct, there is no "link" to "CIT 0171 (PDF Format)" on the CIC website.  It is also entirely possible that your lawyer doesn't have any blank forms.

This in no way means, however, that this form "is not available for the public", or better yet, "is not available anywhere"  (have you really checked everywhere to make such a statement ? ;-)

A great deal of public information is not posted on the web.  I don't know the rationale behind what CIC chooses to put on its website and what they choose to leave off.  I personally think that they are doing a disservice to themselves and to the applicants by not being upfront about the expectations in terms of the documents and records that PRs should keep should it become necessary to provide more detailed proof of residence.  Not to say that by not making it available they are creating an entirely unnecessary and easily avoidable problem in a case if the original form is spoiled in some way.

As an aside, this is a form that is sent to thousands of applicants...I can't imagine anyone seriously thinking that they could somehow keep it "secret", even if there was a legitimate reason to, which of course there isn't.

In any case, it's not all that important.  What is important, is that this information is available, but one accesses it not by clicking a link, but by making a phone call, writing a letter or sending a fax and asking for it.