Hi Needaip, I applied through a lawyer and at the time he said I had to do it that way or in person, there's no option to do it online, it took around a week to get it back, it goes by Mail.
In Ontario you can get your health card on the Ontario Service on the the same day, I don't know the rules for Manitoba, but it's worth to find out for sure.
No problem, just keep an eye on it, once I have any news about stage 2 I will definitely post it here. By the way... with AIP, your sister can get the health card and work/study permit.