They might have sent that letter before and you did not get it. As to your first question
this is normal. Everything is slow. AOR now takes up to 8 months to drop. Calling IRCC won’t make any difference
A judge is simply an IRB staff. They look at your claim, check, review and note down the loopholes if any. Then give you a date. I wish you all the best in your hearing.
I can’t wait for the day when there’ll be no updates on this thread. So those of us from 2025 will start having hopes. Because it’s ridiculous that we still have applicants from 2022-23 Still waiting.
Family ties in Canada? Or family ties in your home country? Did you try applying for just one person? If the issue is family ties maybe leaving a family member behind and applying might help.